A God's Reign
by The Predacon
Summary: Deus Statera: The God of Balance. Named rightfully so. Able to demolish Grimm, large and small. Made for it. Seemingly, the perfect killer. The destroyer. Merciless, seemingly soulless. However, Blake Belladonna: Huntress in training, stumbles upon a juvenile Statera, and must make the decision to stand by him, no matter the cost, or let him fall prey to Man, or Grimm's hands.
1. Awakening

**Author's Notes: Now, let me get something off my chest. The Deus Statera is my Grimm OC, the art is provided by Exvnir.  
Deus Statera Bio is located ON MY PROFILE. Please go there to read about the Statera beforehand.  
**

**-Awakening- PoV: Deus Statera**

It was cold when I woke up. I was sleeping on the ground, next to the shattered egg shell I had resided in for so many months. Just yesterday I'd finally poked my face through the shell, into the blinding sunlight of the outside world. It was cold… Very cold… I shivered, and whimpered, a sound soft and whiny, before huddling around the remaining warmth of the egg that once protected me.

I had spent the next few weeks hunting. Usually, my prey were small flying beings with wings. I called them "Flying things". They moved quickly, and when I tried to snap them up, they darted away, seemingly teasing me. I finally managed to get one, after waiting for it to land on the green surface in front of me. It tasted gross, but I ate it anyways, as I was feeling very hungry, and my body made alarming noises, all of which I flinched at when they occurred. Finally, I ate enough for satiation, and decided to look over myself. I was shocked, as I didn't even notice I had two small arms, each with four little clawed fingers. I even had legs! Sometimes afterwards, when I turned around really fast, I could also see a long, waving thing connected to my rear end. It hurt to bite, so I decided to stop it after the 4th time.

I finally decided to make my way into a nearby forest. It was dark, and very green, I liked it. So much fun to be had! I could play, hunt and do anything I wanted! In my excitement, I didn't even see the stick in front of me, and I tripped, falling face forward into the ground. I was dazed, and looked up, right into a row of teeth, slightly red for some reason. I looked over the rest of the shape in front of me. It looked large, and bulky, stood on four legs, with a white face, and deep red, almost hypnotic eyes. It didn't look like me, or seem to like me, but I made no motion to move. I wanted to play with it! I made a playful lunging gesture, and from the deepest part of the being came a low, threatening growl. I immediately backed off, scared out of my wits, and bolted into a bush.

I ran, kept running, and didn't stop until I was sure the terrifying thing wasn't following me. I was terrified, my body shook, and I seemed wobbly in my steps. I didn't like this place anymore! I wanted out! I tried to find the area to exit the leafy forest, but was lost. I felt like whimpering, calling out to my mother. "Did I have a mother? How did I come to be?" I tried to answer these questions, but couldn't as I suddenly bumped into another creature. This one looked down at me with golden eyes. One's that seemed to question, rather than hate. I immediately picked myself up off the forest floor, and looked back up at this creature. From the scent, I could tell she was female. Young. She was alone. I bared my teeth at her instinctively, and got into a threatening posture. Her eyes seemed to soften upon seeing this, and she released a small gasp, seemingly of approval.

_"Why didn't she run!? I was terrifying!"_

She reached one hand out to me, but I nipped her hand. Instantly, she recoiled, and yelped, her finger now showing the same red substance that was on the other creature's teeth! They had to be connected somehow! I knew it! She then sighed, and bent back up, before suddenly reaching down and picking me up by the chest. I squirmed and made noises of discontent.

_"Put me down!"_ I squealed in my native tongue.

The message didn't seem to get across, and I tried to nip her again, but I couldn't reach her hand. As I squirmed, she began looking all over my body, making a subtle noise. It seemed to radiate happiness or content, I could not confirm. She then slowly put me down, and I squirmed away from her grasp. I wanted to run, but at the same time, was intrigued by this new species I found.

The girl looked at me again, and simply muttered _"What are you…?"._

I didn't understand what, or why she made the noise, but it didn't seem hostile. Suddenly, another noise came out from behind her, sounded much like her, but wasn't her.

The creature turned her head, bellowed _"Coming!"_, before taking a final look at me, and leaving. I tried to follow, but got lost again, and ended up in a deeper part of the forest. From within me, as the sky and land got darker, a primal urge to rest suddenly set upon me. I found a place that seemed safe in my mind, and slowly sat down and rested on my chest, and fell into a slumber. I didn't wake up until it was light the next day.

**Hope you enjoyed this first segment! Depending on how well this is received, I'll either upload Chapter 2 immediately, or wait and expand on it.**


	2. Knowledge is Power

**-Knowledge is Power-PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I left the mystery creature, and trudged through the bushes, trying to reach the source of Yang's voice again. My Faunus ears could easily hear it, but pinpointing was hard in an area with multiple trees, where sounds ricochet off all objects.

_"What was that thing...?" "Why was something so small, so alone...?"._

In my train of thought, I bumped into Yang, who promptly turned around, and hugged me as tight as she could, making me grunt from the tight, yet loving squeeze.

_"Where'd ya wander off too?"_

_"Eh, just... around."_

I tried to skirt off the thought of what I had found, and instead, joined Yang, along with Ruby, and Weiss, the former was still quiet, and the latter was more up ahead, observing shrubbery. I kept silent all the way back to Beacon, thinking of seeing the creature again. I WANTED to. It was new… Intriguing… It was a Grimm… But it was… Different. It reminded me so much of the bones of creatures seen in old museums. The true definition eluded me temporarily in my multiple thoughts and ideas. It held the same head design of the ancient creatures, with sharp rows of teeth, small at the time, due to age. It had a digitigrade posture, a long tail, forearms with 4 clawed fingers, and the most unique feature was a row of dorsal spines on the backbone of this creature. They were small and dull now, but I guessed they'd grow in size as it grew older. Suddenly, the word popped into my head:

_"DINOSAUR."_

Upon reaching Beacon, via Airship, I quickly walked out, only to step into the wild, yet informative Dr. Oobleck's office. Much to my silent amusement, I'd always noticed his tendency to always be on some sort of caffeine binge, moving around at speeds rivaling mine. He, and Professor Port were always the knowledge bases, always able to give info on weaponry, fighting style, history, Grimm. Anything.

_"Got a question, Madame?"_

_"Yes, about a Grimm species, a saurian one."_

I watched as he swiftly pulled out a large textbook, one coated in dust, torn, and worn all over the place. He then flipped to the Table of Contents, and then flipped to the section pertaining to the exact species I spoke of. Almost instantly, I jabbed my finger at the article, he slipped the book over to me, and I brushed the dust off the name of the creature.

_**"Deus Statera: God of Balance"**_

I smirked at the name choice, and how helpless the creature seemed in the forest. It seemed hilariously ironic.

_"Extremely rare Grimm, massive in adult size, approximately 95-100 feet tall, 205 feet long. Grimm species is based off the long extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex, and other closely related theropods, such as Giganotosaurus, and Carcharodontosaurus."_

The subtle smirk on my face quickly vanished as I skimmed through the pages.

_"The Statera's main purpose is to eradicate large amounts of Grimm to keep population in check. This coupled with its size, brings about the name "God of Balance"."_

Oobleck looked over at me, while I was reading, before quickly questioning me whilst zipping around me, the room, and his various shelves, cutting off my thoughts:

_"I'm curious as to why you chose that specific species, without any seeming prior connections? We never spoke of it, or related Grimm in class."_

I felt nervous about this, really, I did. Slowly, I turned my head, and with the most crystal clear voice, simply stated:

_"Ah, I'd heard some things on creatures like this from friends and rumors, just got curious and interested."_

Oobleck suddenly came a little closer to me, not uncomfortably so, but close enough that I was able to sense his unease, even in his quick mannered ways of travelling.

_"You didn't happen to FIND one of these… Did you?"_

My heart dropped into my stomach. He knew, yet, he didn't know. How did he guess so easily? Did I reveal it? Did I keep it a secret, despite the possible danger?

_"N-no. Why do you ask…? And why do I feel like you're… Uneasy?"_

_"I ask, because we're currently experiencing a higher amount of Grimm than before, by no means a new record, but high enough to where I think one of these creatures could rise. I'm uneasy, because of the obvious danger it imposes. It could easily level towns, cities, Beacon would only stand hours against one, God forbid there be more. We need to be careful of them. If you find one, do not aggravate, or anger it. They may be majestic, but they are deadly… Make no mistake. Understood?"_

I nodded swiftly.

_"Understood."_

_"Good, now do finish, I need to head out, and I can't have students in my room after hours like this."_

In one step off the usual trail, I had inadvertently found possibly the most dangerous, yet helpful creature on this continent. I was stuck in a crossroads, did go back and end the creature, leaving us to handle the Grimm… Or did I let it live, so the Grimm numbers went down… And possibly leave us to have to deal with a massive monster that could level Vale, Beacon, or even other continents, given the time?

I quickly handed Oobleck his textbook, thanked him, and walked out, a little shaken at my discovery, but also very excited.


	3. Observation

**Author's Notes: Decided to upload two chapters, as they were relatively shorter than the others in terms of content. I'm open to any questions so far, and if you're confused on the story, and its content, don't worry. All will be explained, be patient. It'll pay off.**

**-Observation-PoV: Deus Statera**

I got up instantly, wanting to eat. I finally came upon an area with a bunch of blue stuff collected in an area, and walked over cautiously. I dipped my foot in it, and it seemed wet, moist and cold. I decided it wasn't a threat, and waded into the substance. Instantly, I was relieved and cooled down. I didn't even know I was overheated. I then felt like something was watching me, a familiar presence. I turned around, only to see the same girl creature from yesterday!

She was watching me, with those sharp golden, piercing eyes. Judging from yesterday, she was of no visible harm, but I still approached with utter caution, should she attack me. I walked over, a little clumsily, and held out my snout to sniff her. She then got down to her knees, and made a soft tapping motion on the ground in front of her, I thought she was directing me to food, but when I walked over and sniffed the ground, I got plucked up off the ground again, much to my displeasure. I didn't squirm for long, as her grasp on my body was firm, but still gentle, making me relax.

_"How could something so big, be so gentle to something as small as I?"_

She began running her finger down my side. The sensation tickled me, and made me squirm more. Her finger then ran down my spine. I felt her finger bumping against me multiple times, and didn't know why, I felt that there was something on my back, but couldn't see it, given my position. I then realized I had arms again! I tried to slash the girl with my claws, but she simply let out a friendly laugh, seemingly taunting me, and my vulnerability. She then whispered softly:

_"I wonder what something like you would eat…?"_

I didn't understand the question, but she had some sort of altered tone in her voice, seemingly curiosity. Suddenly, she put me down carefully, and walked the other way, vanishing quickly.

I sat in the same spot the female left me at, occasionally wandering off to grab some food in the form of the flying things I favored. Everything else either tasted like dirt, or a plant. I couldn't get meat, as anything with meat was too big for me to get, or tried to eat me in return. She returned a few hours after, brandishing three items, all of which were unknown to me. I flinched as she put them down, and she sat there, before picking up each, and sniffing it in a fashion much like mine, in a reassuring sense, trying to assure me there was no harm to be found.

I stumbled up to the items, one was round, brown, with little black specks scattered around it. It smelled… Sweet. I bit a chunk off of it, and swallowed it. Immediately, I retched, and tried to bring up whatever gross food that was. It was WAY too sweet for my tastes. I looked at the female like she was insane. Upon seeing the green food, I knew it was not what I was meant to eat, it was a plant. The last item was a relief to see; it was meat of some kind. I quickly grabbed it and ripped into it, trying to satiate myself, as food had been scarcer and scarcer as time went on. The girl made a grunt of approval over my food choice, and the next time I looked up from eating, she was gone, with only the leaves rustling in her wake.


	4. Curiosity doesn't kill the Cat

**-Curiosity doesn't kill the Cat-PoV: Blake Belladonna**

Never in my life would I know why I chose to try and feed a carnivore a cookie. I laughed quietly to the thought, and was ironically happy that the creature was satiating itself. I recently asked for the ancient textbook where I'd gotten the information initially, and I hadn't been able to stop reading.

I'd learned the Grimm wasn't exactly "bad", nor was it hostile to humans unless it was extremely aggravated or scared. The thought that this would most likely keep it away from urban areas helped ease my early thoughts. It struck me as sad that so few of these creatures existed, and how they acted as crowd clearers, rarely coming up naturally. It was unique in so many ways. I wanted to see it, again, and again. I wouldn't kill it, that decision was made, but what to do with it now plagued my thoughts. Did I keep feeding it, in order to help it grow, or did I let it hunt on its own time? Both seemed preferable. I could help it, while it learned on its own, as it should.

_"We may have been told that all Grimm lack souls, but is that really true anymore?"_

From experience, it was non-hostile, as the book said. However, one thing bugged me. It was alone. All Grimm were known to have SOME parental care when in the stages of infancy, but this creature had none. It seemed like such an ineffective way to ensure the survival of your species. The textbook never made any reference to a parental figure, but the egg had to come from SOMEWHERE.

_"What should I tell my team? They may have a right to know... But they may write it off as a merciless beast... One they think they should kill instantly."_

I knew Ruby, in her immature ways, would treat the bloody thing like a pet, and not like the "destroyer" or "crowd-clearer" it truly was.

Weiss… based on her reaction to my Faunus heritage alone, and her own experiences, will try and kill the being, without any prior judgement, or thought.

Yang. Yang… I didn't even know what she'd think. Judging by how she reacted to my two day absence, I doubt she'd care.


	5. First Blood

**Author's Notes: I've noticed that I haven't been getting much in the space of reviews. Personally, I'd LOVE if you guys could write one, even a small one, telling me my strengths, or weaknesses. I want to write this with the fan's in mind, and would be MORE than happy to try and add new ideas to this fic, if you guys wish, OR expand and improve on things that you feel are flimsy or weak. Once again, enjoy! **

**-First Blood-PoV: Deus Statera**

Over the next few months, she kept arriving on a daily basis. Not only that, but I realized the world around me was steadily shrinking! Everything was smaller! Even the girl! She didn't seem to take note of this world changing catastrophe, even when she saw me. All she said was "Deus", before promptly handing me subsequently larger pieces of food. I assumed "Deus" was a command to eat, and eat I did, every so often, taking a look at the girl, who had taken a large liking to venturing around me as I ate. I then realized I was at an even height with her… Maybe this world shrinking thing wasn't so bad…

Occasionally, she ran her hand over me, and was quickly shown her place with a quick snarl. This sparked an obviously irritated response from her, as her face suggested. Once I was finished eating, I would head into a deeper part of the forest, and usually, the girl would wander back from the way she came, but this time, she followed me, all up until I laid down to rest. As I lay on the ground, slowly dozing off, she made a hand motion towards herself, and said "Blake". The noise got my attention, and I refocused on her. She made the noise and motion again. What was she trying to do? Then, in an even more confusing gesture, the creature pointed at me, and said "Deus".

_"Why did she say that? Was I going to eat again? I didn't want to..."_

I made a scoffing noise, and slowly turned my head away, wanting to sleep. Suddenly, the girl began to make a melodious sound, one that I enjoyed thoroughly, as it was relaxing, calm, and nice. I couldn't understand the sentences, but what I heard made me relax and nod off.

_"Don't worry, I've got you;_

_Nothing will ever harm you._

_I'm close by, I'll stay here..."_

I finally slept throughout the entire night, and the next day, the female didn't return.

_"Was she gone for good"?, "Why did she just not arrive"?, "Did she get lost"?._

All these questions ran through my head, and slowly, I came to the conclusion that she would come later. She had to. Seeing as I was without food, I took it upon myself to start hunting for real. I wandered into the forest again, looking for possible food items. I came across the same creature I had encountered a few months earlier. It lumbered towards me on its 4, trunk-like legs, and let out a deep, rumbling growl, one that sounded remarkably like my own. Its face still held the fierce white color, and short dimensions, its body was broad, with muscular shoulders, and white, bony protrusions, much like my own on its shoulders and back.

I responded to its aggression with my own deep growl, and bared my teeth, this time menacingly, and boldly. Suddenly, I charged it, full force, but was quickly stopped in my tracks with a massive, heavy hitting blow from its clawed, broad hand, one that impacted the side of my skull, sending me reeling backwards. I shook my head, trying to clear it from the massive blow, before looking at it in its entirety, trying to find a weak point. I could see three; behind the head, the neck. and the underbelly. I made another charge, and was greeted with another not so pleasant smack to the skull. This one was hard enough to make me recoil, whimpering in pain. I recovered again, now wondering if I should even bother with it. I then remembered that I hadn't truly eaten in days, and how hungry I was beforehand. I could leave, uninjured, and still hungry... Or I could try to kill it, and gain food for the night to satiate myself. My mind suddenly shifted to a pure adrenaline filled state, making my vision blur slowly, before clearing it, making it crisp, clear and slick, while my senses began to go on overdrive. The scent of blood filled my nostrils, and my body tensed up. This creature was going down.

In one final desperate, adrenaline fueled attack, I ran full torque at the creature. It made the same predictable smacking motion, so I ducked underneath it, before swiftly darting forward and gripping its throat with my jaws, clamping down with all my might. Its mighty hands gripped my body, attempting to rip me off, to no avail, my jaws weren't moving, nor was my body. Suddenly, it went limp, and collapsed, trying to crush me underneath its bulk. In a split-second reaction, I pressed my feet against its stomach, narrowly avoiding being crushed, as my muscles were easily able to hold it up.

Utilizing my claws like sharp daggers, I slammed both into its upper chest, impaling it, and garnering a savage roar of pain as blood and black smoked poured past my fingers, before I shifted my body's weight to push it onto its back, pinning it with my feet and claws. I let up my jaw's grip for only a split second, suddenly clamping down again, using all my force and strength to brutally crush its windpipe with a sick "crunch", before ripping away, tearing its throat out, with a massive spurt of blood from its arteries. I swiftly swallowed the chunk of fleshed, before watching as an expression of shock crossed its face, it gargled on its own blood, and curled onto into a ball, before laying still, deceased.

At that moment, I was amazed, happy, and hungry. Amazed I did it, happy I had my first hunt alone, and hungry seeing the fresh meat in front of me. I had succeeded, and began swiftly eating, not wanting any inevitable scavengers to take any important areas of the carcass. Hours passed, and the heat of the day had utterly exhausted me, long after I'd finished gorging myself on the feast. After getting myself cooled down in the blue pool, and finishing the remains of the prey before me, I laid down, growled, and rested for the first time in seemingly forever.


	6. So Many Questions

**Author's Notes: DOUBLE POST DAY! Enjoy!**

**-So Many Questions-PoV: Blake Belladonna**

The thing that had shocked me the most about my visits over the past few months was how fast the Grimm had grown. Most would normally take years to reach physical maturity, such as the Nevermore, or Death Stalker, but this creature had grown a little over my height in only months. Each day, he seemed to hit another growth spurt. It was alarming, but really interesting to see such a creature grow in its entirety. I re-read his estimated height, and realized something like him would be hard to hide.

Right now, he hovered over my head, and now had to look down to see me, but soon, he'd need to lay down if he wished to notice me… Either that, or I'd have to stand on a cliff at his eye level. That thought made me laugh and tremble. It'd be a new, weirder perspective, to see something bigger than you, watching you, but it'd also be terrifying. His posture, mixed with the massive, and frankly intimidating dorsal spines, made him quite a large force already, and he wasn't even fully grown. He was also a little clumsy, which is something to expect from such a massive, yet young being placed in a compressed area. Watching him tumble into trees was quite a humorous sight.

One key thing I noted from the ancient texts, was that the Statera would eventually migrate to nearby mountain ranges, and live there, instead of here in the shallow forested areas. Another particularly haunting aspect of the creature was its roar. It was loud, and very deep. It was also strikingly familiar. However, the one thing that urked me, was that the final few pages on the article had noted the Statera's counterparts and ancestors. One page simply referred to something nicknamed: "The Boulder". Beyond that, the text was illegible. Gone. Dust. The image of the article looked a lot like the Statera as of now, but it held a distinctly more rounded appearance, and it lacked the spines. Other than that, I didn't hold an understanding of it, or it's true name. The thought alone of NOT knowing bugged me more than knowing.

However, remembering the roar made me recall times, all throughout my life as a young girl, where I'd heard the exact noise of a Statera from a long distance off, by the exact mountain range I was near. One day, they had suddenly stopped, leaving me wondering for years what it was. Finally, I'd had my answer to THAT, but it opened up so many new questions.

_"What exactly happened to the last Statera I'd heard? Did it die, was it killed, or did it just... Leave...? If so... Where was it?"_

I held no answers, and didn't know if I ever would.


	7. So Few Answers

**-So Few Answers-PoV: Deus Statera**

I awoke in the early morning, it was peaceful and serene. I slowly pushed myself off of the ground, and shook my head to escape my drowsiness. I looked at myself, and noticed the world hadn't shrunken as much, which made me happy, as my head was now beginning to scrape the tips of the branches of the green, bushy things sticking from the ground.

I felt the urge to wander, it was impossible to resist. This time, instead of going deeper into the forest, I attempted to find my way OUT of it. I could smell something… Something ancient. Something that was luring me out, guiding me. I wanted to find out it was. I also wanted to know what was outside these green walls, the ones that had protected me for so long. I began wondering;

_"What would I find? Another forest? Mountains, cliff sides… More blue pools?"_

The last option seemed really welcoming, as I forgot how to find my own blue stuff somehow. Aggravated, I'd whipped my tail directly into a thick, bushy, green thing, causing it to slam into the ground with a crash, one that made me jump and flinch. It was no usual enemy, but I wonder why it made a move to scare me. Was it challenging me!? The thought increased my anger, and I swiftly crushed it with one ruthless slam of my foot, destroying it easily. I sniffed it, made sure it wouldn't move again, and snorted in victory, before promptly continuing my movement towards the edge of the forest.

I thought, only for a second that the world was shrinking again, but I realized that everything was simply smaller, the closer I got to the edge of the forest. I was shocked by what I'd found upon clearing the trees. What I saw was completely different than what I knew. Large, tall, square objects were placed in rows. They were shiny, but the one thing that surprised me even more than the structures, were the massive amounts of the female's species, walking around the marked paths and green ground. Was this what led me here? Their scent? No… The original scent was… Nearby, but I noticed it faded, until it was not present anymore. I didn't think any of them saw me, but upon moving out of my cover, closer to them, they made horrible, ragged sounds of pain, or fear at the sight of me. They then ran in the other direction.

_"Why were they running? I wouldn't harm them!"_

My own footsteps caused small tremors in the ground, making any object made by these creatures bounce and fall over with each step. I slowly approached one of the structures, and tilted my head, before peering inside of it. I could see many more of these creatures, before they hid, from me, obviously. I placed my foot on the bottom of the building, while I placed my right hand on the side of it. Both went through the material with a loud "smash", making the panels on the sides of this complex shatter into millions of small pieces. Uninterested, I let out a small snarl, and stepped away from the massive monument, before turning around and slowly stalking my way back to the forest. They didn't seem to want to associate with me, so why go back? A sudden gust of wind filled the area, offing my balance slightly, but I righted myself, and continued on.

It wasn't long before I was back in my homeland, the forest I'd called home. The place I was at both shocked, and angered me. It was unique, but the beings there seemed to hate me, for no reason whatsoever. Then, a thought provoking question entered the regions of my mind:

_"Why did this one female take care of me, if all the others seemingly hated, and ran from me?"_

Then, I came to the most profound conclusion. SHE was my mother. It all made sense! She gave me food, and tried to take care of me. She handled me with care, and never harmed me. She had to be my mother! I felt happy, and relieved in a sense.


	8. Unforeseen Consequences

**-Unforeseen Consequences- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I didn't know whether to be scared, or angered. Through many students at Beacon, had I heard of the massive dinosaur-like creature which nearly stomped through a town outside of Vale, before heading back to the Emerald Forest. People were commonly making the assumption it was a creature, long thought extinct, but I knew immediately it was the Statera. I wondered if I was the only one to truly know...

The actions of the Statera nearly ended up in the delay of the second semester at Beacon, ironically so, as we were being trained to fight them, not run from them. I guess Oobleck was right about the danger this thing posed… Like I should have doubted him...

This event however, contradicted my earlier confirmation on the creature not coming to cities, and that put everyone in danger. What did I do? I didn't know what to do. I got up from the lunch table, from which Ruby, Yang and Weiss sat alongside me. Ruby asked me where I was going, I said "Outside". The latter then briefly looked up at me, before uttering a simple, but sarcastic:

_"Be careful of the killer dinosaur."_

I simply made a subtle scowl, and my face contorted in a soft pain, before I whispered:

_"He's no random killer..."_

Ruby looked over, her face seemed worried, however, her normally relaxed and carefree posture remained.

_"Are you okay? Is something wrong?"_

I looked at Ruby, and for a moment, I felt really bad for her. She had truly no idea, did she? I didn't know what to think of her… She wasn't "dumb" about the situation… She was just… unassuming. It didn't annoy me, but it didn't make me happy either. I simply nodded at her, and gave her a soft, reassuring smile.

_"Yes, I'm fine, Ruby."_

I then swiftly left, leaving the three girls behind, and then I left the school grounds. Before heading to the forest, I traveled to, and stopped by the city at which the Statera had been seen. It was disheartening to see the situation; people were crying, scared that this _"Terrible Monster"_ that they feared would come again to kill them, or their family members. Others were enraged, claiming that _"This thing should never have attacked them"_. I wanted desperately to call out to them; to tell them they were wrong, that it wasn't here to harm them, but I knew that would lead to far worse than this.

Property damage was nonexistent initially to my view, however, I could see two markings. One in the side of the building, from where the creature had grabbed it, and a lower marking, where the Deus had stepped to see inside the building. The worst side effect of those were crushed glass windows and panels. Other than that however, the only traces of the massive creature were a trail of footprints, and the distinct mark of a tail, dragging through the sand and grass. By tracing the footprints, I noticed they didn't even lead into the city, the simply went to the outermost building, and stopped, before promptly turning around, and vanishing as it crossed the boundary into the forest. It gave me some relief to know that the Grimm would not attack or destroy buildings, as it seemingly didn't want to, or just didn't care.

These people were scared, understandably, but they didn't need to be, and that killed me. I took my eyes from the saddening sight, and began following the footprints to the forest. The creature had grown again, as I could see from the size and shape of the print. Suddenly a hand clasped my shoulder, and I turned around to face a kind looking man, dressed in rather official attire. I assumed he was an officer for the small city. He had broad shoulders, a bushy mustache, soft, brown colored eyes, with a face that seemed old, but wise.

_"Excuse me, Miss, but I don't think it's a good idea to go into the forest now, especially with that creature roaming around."_

His intentions were true, and honest, and I respected that, but I simply shrugged, and lightly took his hand from my shoulder.

_"Don't worry, it's just a small assignment for the Academy, I just need to get some ingredients for a chem experiment."_

He looked over the area, the forest, me, and quickly nodded, before waving his hand, signalling I do it quickly.

_"Fine, fine, go quickly though, we don't need anymore casualties."_

I looked at him, confused.

_"Hmm…? Casualties? What do you mean? There's no destruction."_

He solemnly pointed to my right, his left, and I tilted my head, looking at the area. I saw it. I really wish I hadn't. I don't know what shocked me more, the crushed and utterly destroyed building, once a powerful monument of peace, or the people underneath it, dead, faces forever contorted in silent horror. The most damaging sight, was the family. All dead. Motionless. The father, holding his wife. His wife, holding her son. Her son, holding a small teddy bear, as if the small child hoped the toy would ward of all evil and hostility.

With my face in open shock, I couldn't help but stutter, unable to speak. These people had families, were families, and might've grown to be families, had they been allowed to live on. Now, they were gone, forever, taken by some unexpected cataclysm. A sudden numbness filled my brain at the sense of finality present here. It was haunting. I tried to recover from my shock, and the man in front of me looked worried. He promptly took me, and led me to the shade of a nearby tree, presumably to let me cool down.

I sat down, and ran my hands through my hair, silently grieving. I felt genuinely bad, that these innocent men, women and children had to feel the wrath of something out of their control. They didn't deserve it, yet it was dealt to them. I finally calmed down, and slowly brought my attention towards the ruins again; noticing something peculiar: there were no footprints by the ruins, only rubble, and bodies... A Statera didn't do this…


	9. The Alpha, and the Omega

**-The Alpha, and the Omega-PoV: Ozpin**

I simply sipped from my mug, before looking out of my tower.

_"Among humanity, there will be single individuals that will rise in power, higher than the rest. This same principle applies to the animal kingdom and, likewise, to the Grimm. However, we must not make the mistake of thinking we are the most capable of species. Should we fall victim to arrogance, there will be something bigger to prove us wrong. Even the outstanding among us will be put into place, if that day comes. However, much like us, that creature will be proven helpless to something more capable still. Nature guarantees no place, regardless of good and evil."_

The man clad in white simply looked at me, before tilting his head.

_"What're you trying to say, Ozpin?"_

_"There will always be a bigger fish."_


	10. Natura Irae

**-Natura Irae- PoV: Deus Statera**

It was only the middle of the day when I got back to my refuge. In contrast to the path I had taken yesterday, I decided to walk the complete opposite way, towards the massive mountain in the distance, with a sharp peak, and a seeming armada of white, fluffy, sky borne objects. It seemed much more favorable than the place I was just at, a place where hate was seemingly prevalent. I didn't feel dejected from that place, I just felt like I didn't belong. Ironically, I didn't encounter much wildlife, and upon reaching the base of the massive rock face, I realized how big it was.

I had a slight problem with navigation, as the incline, mixed with my lack of grip made for a slippery experience. I slammed, and dug my claws into the walls of the rock, hoping to find some traction and grip. However, it took me a good 10 minutes just to reach a point a little higher than I was tall on solid ground. I then looked to my right, and saw a small opening, which when I turned to view it, the change in perspective revealed a larger gap, one that I could transverse and enter, much to my excitement. I scaled a small portion of the rock face sideways, and eventually reached the entrance to this cave. As I stared into the opening, I heard a small, unknown sound emanating from it. It sounded like multiple legs skittering along a flat surface, it gave me an awkward feeling of uneasiness, one that I had never experienced before.

I slowly stepped into the large cavern; it was massive, the ceiling being way higher than my head. I took one, long gaze at the entire area. It seemed to go deep into the mountain I'd climbed. My eyes took some time to adjust to the new lighting of the cave, and I scoped out the area, suddenly, behind me, at the opening of the cave, I saw a large flash of light, and then heard a loud "crack", both of which made me flinch. The same substance that made up the blue pools of my youth then started to fall.

I snuck my head back into the outside air, enjoying the coolness and dampness of the stuff as the liquid fell from the sky. I saw the flashes of light in the sky, mixed with the booming noises that accompanied them, before snarling and sighing. This was ironically perfect. I liked this, the wet, damp feeling on my snout, and the howling air and loud flashes of light. The world seemed aggressive, and it suited me perfectly. I felt like nothing could stop me, and promptly, I let out a massive victory roar, at everything, challenging anything to try and take me down. I then turned around, into the howling dark, and entered the cave.

I went deeper into the cave, and wasn't greeted by anyone, or anything. Inwardly, I smirked:

_"Had my roar truly scared everything off?"_

There was nothing immediately in the cave; it was barren and seemingly empty, not a creature to be found. I was ironically shocked at the silence, it was unnerving. I could hear the echoes of each of my footsteps however, the only sound to be heard; that, and my constant breathing and snarling. My vision was superb in the dark expanses of this cave, and I was able to see very far in front of me. Looking at the ground, I could see small, blue, domed shaped plants.

I used my hand, and tried to grab one, but it was immediately crushed in my grasp, much to my shock and annoyance. I did it again, trying to grab another, with the same result. I grew increasingly angry, each plant kept getting destroyed in my grasp, when I was trying too hard to be gentle. Suddenly, my rage hit a peak, and I curled my large hand into a ball, before slamming it into the row of glowing plants, destroying some of them, with the remaining plant's presence seemingly teasing me. I continued on my path, with each plant seemingly mocking my efforts to grab them without destruction.

_"Why couldn't I grab them? Were these plants mocking me!?"_

My clawed hand seemed so massive compared to these insignificant plants. Was that the reason that they kept getting destroyed at my hand? This thought gave me a new emotion… Something different. Defeat? No…

Suddenly, I stopped. I felt the nagging feeling that something, or someone, was watching me, possibly even stalking me. I heard the subtle movement of something up ahead; the same multi-legged tapping noise I'd heard earlier. On instinct, I unleashed a deafening roar, one that made the ground below me shake, dislodging rocks, roots, and anything that was loose. The leg sounds quickly faded away into the furthest blackness ahead, but not before a loud, piercing, screech resounded through the cave, something was challenging me for entering this place, and it didn't seem content with my presence.


	11. Following a Giant

**-Following a Giant- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I had managed to get out of my saddened, and shocked stupor that had afflicted me. Seeing it, the destruction, deaths, aftermath, it was too much. Slowly, I got up, and the man kept looking at me, as if he was questioning my ability to do… well anything. I didn't blame him, I went from strong, to a tattered wreck. The death of innocents wasn't an area I was strong with...

_"Are you okay, Miss? You don't seem well at all. Should I escort you to Beacon"?_

I was surprised by both the kind gesture and how he knew I was from Beacon, the latter being much more shocking. How did he know I was from Beacon? Did he work there? No… He wore the clothing of an officer HERE, not there. I was slowly engulfed by the daydream, before slowly nodding at his question.

_"I'm fine, just needed a short rest."_

He looked over me, as if not believing my statement, before sighing quietly, and nodding. His hand then rested on my shoulder again, ironically, filling me with a sense of security instead of unease. His face, old, tired, and weary, as if these days were coming up on him too fast. I truly felt a pity for him. Our eyes met for the slightest of moments, and I swore, we finally understood the other. How it felt to have your feet swept out from under you, metaphorically, how shocking events could turn in the blink of an eye, and how tragic they could end up. He let go of my shoulder, and ushered me to quickly move into the forests, and I did, leaving the small, shattered town, and the man behind.

_"Was it always this hard…? Or better question. Was it right? Leaving someone behind, when you could've helped them…?"_

I didn't know, but did I want to know the answer? I wasn't so sure.

It wasn't long at all before I started following the Statera, following its footprints and unmistakable after effects. Sometimes, it'd be something as large as his footprint, something as brutally effective as his claws digging into the walls of cliffs, or the hills he passed by, or even a simply swipe of sand from his tail, creating an ironically majestic, and beautiful image.

_"How could he, something meant for destruction and death, create this?"_

All throughout my trek outside the town, and into the forest, I was hit by a really unsettling feeling. It wasn't one of fear, but rather one of sheer caution. I felt stalked. It felt like something was just boring into my soul. Was it a threat? I didn't know, but if it made me feel this way, I didn't wish to know. Suddenly, on the edge of my mind, I felt a subtle "poke", as if something was trying to push itself into my mind, my memories. It wasn't harsh, but I could feel it. I then felt a presence behind me, and I didn't even turn around, I just bolted. Ran. I didn't want to face what tried to get me, and I rapidly used my Semblance to escape. The feeling faded from my mind, and finally stopped, giving me some relaxation, before I got back on track with following the footprints Deus had created.

The repeated use of my Semblance had shortened my journey significantly, making something that would take a regular person days, only take a few hours for me. I could see that his footprints ended simply at the base of a mountain. I then trailed my vision upwards, and could see where he had punched specific areas out of the mountain, if only to grasp and hold onto something. I could also see how he made his way methodically up the mountain. I took a risk to myself, and looked behind me, breathing a sigh of relief, seeing nothing, before turning around, heading back to the mountain. Whatever had been stalking me, had intentionally revealed it's presence. That thought alone scared me. It WANTED me to know it had been watching me.

Shaking off my feelings, I looked over it, and wondered WHY Deus would be climbing it. He had no true reason… Maybe he was simply exploring. I looked at each groove in the mountain, and each intend caused by a massive, unrelenting footstep. I mustered all my strength, and jumped, scaling a small portion of the wall, and managing to find a grip in one of Deus' footprints. From what I could see, he had taken 5 steps upwards, about 200-300 feet upwards on the massive mountain. I realized I couldn't leap in between footprints, and instead, made other leaps for his hand indents. They were more successful, and in a few swift actions, I had accomplished leaping up 3 indents, two footprints and one handprint, an effective 150 feet, all in a few bounds. I was shocked by the feat, as I'd just winged it, not something I usually do.

I reached the second hand gouge, and suddenly had my vision rock and sway, while the mountain shook from a sudden, loud, concentrated roar. It was hauntingly familiar; It was Deus. The roar sounded like he was really scared, or really angry, something I never thought I'd hear, and I feared it instantly. However, what confused me, was that it sounded like it was coming from INSIDE the mountain. Then, I saw the cave; large, unmistakable. Now the roar's sound source made sense. Using Gambol Shroud, I whipped the blade at the far cave's mouth, firing off a round from the ranged portion of the weapon, using the resulting speed and momentum to slam the blade into the rock, firmly. I then swung myself across the large gap, tightening the rope, and angling myself correctly to slide through the air in an aerodynamic fashion. I cut through the air, much like a hot knife through butter, and landed in the mouth of the cave, before carefully yanking Gambol from the rock.

Upon turning around, it was evident this cave was massive. The mountain was hollow… I inspected the rocks, and looked around, shocked at the architecture and design. The way the walls flowed, and the rock was smooth made it seem like water had once been plentiful here, seeping through each crack, eventually forming this rock that I walked upon. It was serene and ironically peaceful, despite the Statera's presence nearby. I could feel the slight shake of the ground with each step he took. It was subtle, but undeniably there, and I tried my best to follow the massive creature.

Inside, much like my Faunus heritage had granted me, I was subject to night vision. I had completely forgotten about my small ability in my saddened determination. I peered around the area, and saw three, large, separate tunnels, each of which could've housed Deus, however, I decided to choose the left, as it seemed to slant upwards, possibly granting an aerial advantage. Thus, I began my small trek to re-find the Statera.


	12. Hunter turned Hunted

**-Hunter turned Hunted- PoV: Deus Statera**

I couldn't exactly see what had challenged me, but it was moving, fast. The ominous skittering noises kept occurring, seemingly from everywhere around me and nowhere at the same time.

_"Where did I turn to face my adversary!? Behind me, in front!?"_

My answer came from neither side, as I saw a long, black, chitinous tail snake down from the ceiling near my face. It was massive, and armored, with a bulbous spike on the end. Intimidating, yet I made a motion to grasp it. It slipped from my grasp before darting at me; the blow was harsh, but I barely evaded it. It was close enough to me to where I could feel its rough hide grinding against my own black and white colored, hardened scaling. It felt sharp, unrelenting.

_"...How big was this creature…?"_

I couldn't see it fully; only the tail, and multiple, glowing, blazing blue eyes in the darkness. It seemed massive, and its footfalls were now slower, more methodical, rather than fast and threatening. It hung on the ceiling, as if stalking me in an upside down manner, but the question remained; was I the hunter, or the hunted…? It took another jab at me with its tail, I ducked it, however, immediately, it swung its large, armored pincer at me, I wasn't able to dodge, and was promptly smashed on the bottom of my jaw. The blow snapped my head back, made my vision swim, and sent me stumbling back 3 steps.

I shook my head, and looked back up at the creature; its eyes seemed to stare right into my own, penetrating and haunting. Suddenly, it moved, slowly "walking" down the side of the wall, on its multiple legs. The way it moved made me shudder, my skin crawled. It didn't terrify me, but it was… unnatural, unique, in a weird sense. I suddenly broke my train of thought, it lunged at me, and slammed into me, full force. It was pushing me backwards, trying to pin me, but I pushed back, barely able to stop it.

My clawed hands gripped it and tried to tear into its body, but its hide was too rough, too thick… Ferociously, I suddenly suck my teeth in, directly into where I'd expect a face to be, and got a response I'd never expected. Its grip released slightly on me, then tightened ten fold, as if it was trying to crush me to death. I could swear, I felt my bones bending under this creature's immense strength, and I let out a growl of agony, before clamping down with all my strength.

I could feel teeth breaking from how hard I clamped down, but I didn't care. I pushed the creature back, using my massive hands to grip its pincers, before slamming it against a wall, my jaws still clamped tightly around its face. We grappled, and it kept grabbing around my head, seemingly trying to get me to let go, an impossible task. I managed to tear its claws from my body and leg respectively, but the distraction only led to me getting smashed by the blunt end of its tail, knocking the wind out of my body, while also causing every muscle in my body to cease up, past its usual limits, making my own claws clench, while also quadrupling my jaw strength, causing the creature to screech in pain as my teeth sunk in deep with minimal resistance.

Suddenly, I both felt and heard a loud "crack", before we both withdrew. The creature made a startling high pitched screeching noise, and shook its body, as if in pain. I looked over it swiftly, and saw a massive crack going down from its head to its back. I smirked inwardly, as I realized I held the advantage. I charged it full torque; dug my claws into the massive tear in the creature's spine, and used the mass of my body to tackle it, causing it to step and stumble backwards until we both slammed into a wall, making dust and rocks spew out of the impact point, like an explosion.

The entire cavern shook, and massive rocks began falling down around us, my looking up at them allowed the primitive creature to grip my throat in its dull pincer claw, and force me back. I was nearly helpless as it slammed me into the opposite wall, causing a massive cave in behind us, the rocks began slamming and pounding on both of us, with the creature screeching in agony as it began getting pelted. I pushed forward, and it only struck me in the face again, sending me spinning back, forcing me to use my hands to prop myself against the cavern wall. Suddenly, it leaped onto my back, and began striking my body, leaving me nearly completely vulnerable as it kept hitting me.

In a sudden rage, a burst of energy surged through me, and my own strength seemingly tripled. I pushed off the wall, as hard as I could, causing me to fly in the opposite direction, back first, towards the other side of the cavern, the creature still in tow, on my spine. I flinched as I felt the sharp, jagged spines on my back impale the massive creature in 5 differing places, piercing through easily, as I could feel them slam through the rock wall. I snarled at my handiwork, before having my balance offed as the massive arachnid squirmed on my back. The damned thing was still alive!

I swiftly gripped it in an awkward feeling position, my arms bent behind me, before I tore it off my back; my spines slicing portions of its legs off as I separated it from me. In one, tiring motion, I bent forward, and flipped the creature off of me, onto the ground, belly up, before raising my massive, clawed foot, slamming it down onto my enemy's chest, only to push down with all my strength. It kept squirming and moving, refusing to surrender and die. I was tired, exhausted actually, but I couldn't just stop fighting. If I did, I die. I still had to care for my one other family member: my mother.


	13. Stalker, Hunter, Victor

**-Stalker, Hunter, Victor- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

This place, although I could see far in front of me, gave off a creepy vibe. It seemed too quiet. Too… Dull. My mind kept drawing itself back to the seeming encounter in the forest, and my mind was filled with even more questions.

_"What HAD been stalking me…? Why did it instill such a feeling of dread in my mind…?"_

The one question however, that REALLY got me, was:

_"Why did it feel like something was poking my mind when I felt its presence?"_

_"Was it… Trying to enter my mind…?"_

The thought unnerved me to no end. The worst thing, is that my paranoia on the subject was slowly egging at me; making me see things I knew weren't there… Or… Thought… I kept thinking the shadows ahead were moving. It seemed so much like so. They molded and swirled in my vision. An ocean of shadows. As I moved forward, I suddenly jumped back as I heard the sound of exhalation, less than a few feet to my left. It was beyond inhuman, and it sounded horrendously deep, subtle, as if whatever made the sound was only lightly masking it, messing with me. I expertly sliced at the area with Gambol. Nothing. No shriek of agony, grunt of surprise, or connection with a body. The area was empty. No life was present.

I took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm down. I couldn't. My body was on overdrive, and it wouldn't cease. I was shaking, and my weapon handling had noticeably decreased in effectiveness. I simply sheathed Shroud, and moved forward, before continuing my journey. This is a time, where my Faunus ability to see in the dark was a fear for me. I didn't WANT to see what was ahead of me in this case. Not based on what I knew. Something other than Deus was in this cave with me.

As I was walking, the ground underneath me suddenly shook, and about 20 feet in front of me, rocks caved into a cavern below. I could hear the telltale signs of a fight, the sounds, Deus roaring in pain and agony, then rage and anger… With… Another creature… The sound it made was high pitched, and ominous. My blood ran cold as I realized it was the dreaded Death Stalker, but it sounded... Bigger.

I peered over the edge of the hole newly created, and saw the two engaged in a fight, the Death Stalker's claw wrapped around Deus' throat and his hands digging into its back. The Stalker was really torn up; I could see multiple holes in its hide, and many of its eight legs were missing. Suddenly, I watched helplessly as the Stalker slammed him into the opposite wall, causing the ground beneath me to crack. I use my Semblance to just narrowly escape, falling back another 20 feet.

_"Did I run… Help him fight? What do I do?"_

I didn't have any time to answer as I heard Deus slam the Stalker into the ground below me, causing it to nearly fall in on itself. The ground beneath me then rippled, as I felt what was presumably the giant scorpion slam into the floor. It cracked, and I quickly used my Semblance to move again, only to realize there was nowhere that was safe.

_"What do I DO!?"_

I swiftly unsheathed Gambol, and armed it into its pistol form, before aiming at the floor beneath me, as it suddenly collapsed from underneath me. As I fell, I could see only dust, and the rocks falling, but time seemingly slowed down to a crawl; my actions slowed, and I slowly turned my head to see the conflict. I could see Deus having the upper hand in the fight; his hands were digging into the Stalker's head, seemingly clawing its eyes out, while the scorpion's tail and claws were huddled close to its body, seemingly trying to curl into a ball to defend against the merciless onslaught.

I then turned my attention back to my weapon, and shot it, the blade launched at a nearby wall, embedded in it, and allowed me to swing closer, before gracefully, and softly landing against it, which then promptly lead to me being able to jump to the floor of the cavern. Time then seemed to return to normal, and I'd assumed I'd had an adrenaline rush, not my first, and definitely not my last, not with Deus here. The ceiling above me then began to crumble, and crack, and I tried to move forward, but I fell to the ground a midst my small panic. It switched to large panic within a second. I let out a grunt of fear, the noise loud, and noticeable. I noticed Deus turn around face me; I saw that he was larger than when I last saw him.

He slowly leaned down to my level, his deep, red eyes staring into my sharp golden ones. They seemed exhausted and hurt, like 1000 battles had been fought, with the horrors staying by his side. Almost, as if sensing my panic, he looked upwards, at the boulder beginning to fall. His large, muscular, clawed hands then grasped it, and he turned around promptly, his tail whipping over my head slowly, barely missing me.

_"How big could he get!?"_

He then raised the massive rock over his head, and slammed it down full force onto the Stalker's armored hide, seemingly crushing it with a sickening crunch. He looked over his work, and suddenly slouched forward, his breaths were loud, heavy, and ragged. He seemed tired, like he just wanted a break for once. His eyes slowly moved as I did, looking over me, not with hostility, but with a simple nod of "I did it". A look of accomplishment. I smiled and moved, so that I was facing him, and he was facing me. The Stalker made no motion to move, and Deus didn't seem to want to either, I just hoped he hadn't been truly injured.

_"Wait… did I just think that?"_

I suddenly felt the floor shudder, and Deus took a small step back as the Stalker got up, undeniably pissed off and ready for one last, unexpected assault. Its hide was crushed, smoke seeping from its multiple cracks and wounds in its exoskeleton. Slowly, it made a motion towards Deus, and smashed him ruthlessly in the side of the skull with its claw, sending him reeling into the wall.

I screamed as he slammed into it with a smash, and my fear grew as the Stalker charged me, full speed, intent on tearing me apart. I tried to run, use my Semblance, but only backed myself into a corner. My repeated use of my Semblance tired me out, and my movements were slower, sluggish. The scorpion slammed one claw into me, sending me flying back into a wall, creating a noticeable indent. I fell to my knees, and looked up, just in time to see the Death Stalker raise its claw for the finisher; the end of a huntress in training.

_"Goodbye..."_


	14. Sors Brutalis

**Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Got busy and forgot to upload yesterday.**

**-Sors Brutalis- PoV: Deus Statera**

I heard a commotion behind me, and pushed myself from the wall I was so ruthlessly decked into. My adrenaline then surged through my veins. I felt my rage increase, blinding rage. Hatred, with the utter need to demolish and kill. Primal instincts. I turned around swiftly, my tail dragging into the wall behind me, leaving a massive dent.

My mother was in danger, I could sense it… I closed the gap between the massive creature, and gripped the one pincer that was raised, before planting a foot on its back, pinning it. I saw her in the corner, hiding from this abomination. I could sense her fear… She was beyond frightened… My rage then hit an all time high, and with all my strength, I ripped its arm off, with ease, a loud screech and roar emanating from the creature. I then looked at the detached appendage, then the creature, before ruthlessly slamming its arm into its own head. Repeatedly bashing it, over and over, before impaling the claw right through its thick skull armor.

It kept moving, trying to get at and strike my mother, further enraging me. As if to completely dismember and destroy it, I gripped its tail. It was heavily armored, and defended by its hide, but I dug my claws into it, tearing slowly into it, causing a black substance to leak from its wounds and injuries. I then sunk my teeth deep into it, easily going past all the armor somehow, ruthlessly pulling and tearing, causing the appendage to tear off with much resistance.

_"This creature would pay…"_

In one final, vicious action, I lifted the massive adversary, tore the claw from its face, before slamming my fingers into the now large gaps in its armor. Using what remained of my once vast strength, I tore its head from its body, swiftly killing it. I sighed, drained of most of my energy, and slowly sunk down to my own knees, imitating my mother's motions, finding it ironically relaxing. I then fell forward with a loud "bang", and sprawled on the ground, simply wanting to sleep, but still high on adrenaline. My vision trailed over to my mother, and she looked back, before simply making a motion with her hand, with one small finger up, while the rest of her hand was a fist.

_"She… was… congratulating me…?"_

I felt proud as I slowly fell into an exhaustion based slumber, and the world around me began fading to a peaceful black, I looked over at my mother, and my blood froze as I saw something over her shoulder; a giant, black figure. It was seemingly staring down at us. Unmoving. My level of fear shot up intensely, and as if trying to ward off the fear I felt, I looked down to my mother, laying on the ground, seemingly with the same, primal idea: to sleep. I simply shut my eyes, and hoped to all things I knew that this thing was an illusion, and slowly fell into a deep slumber.


	15. Missa Ignorantia

**-Missa Ignorantia-PoV: Ruby Rose**

_"Where was Blake? She'd been gone for days…"_

I quietly pondered my thoughts and worries, still scared about the possible outcomes. All of our training sessions had been delayed, as the absence of our teammate forced us to withdraw, much to our instructor's annoyances. Yang seemed really worried, even for Blake, I was more silent on it, and Weiss? She didn't seem to give a damn. She kept her sights more on her weapon, rather than us now.

I turned my head back to my lunch, then my weapon on my own waist. Damaging, ruthless, efficient. Slowly, I got up from the table, and started walking towards the instructors rooms and dorms, as I felt they had the answers to my questions.

_"Ruby? Where are ya going?"_

Not surprisingly, it was Yang who asked, Weiss was still rigid and staring forward.

_"I need to ask the teachers about… Homework."_

I surprisingly stuttered on the last word, although, to my surprise, it didn't garner any reaction. I suspect everyone was rather jumpy, with the Grimm Dinosaur seemingly at large, able to attack anytime. The thought really scared me. I'd even heard Beacon Staff suggesting the school wouldn't last long against it, and that its damage output was massive. Able to level cities. Its presence alone was enough to send everyone into a panic, despite the fact that it had only been seen once, and hadn't destroyed anything.

I stumbled into Professor Port's office. Usually, I wasn't a fan of his teachings, I found them boring, enough to where I fell asleep in class, much to my teammate's dismay. He was sitting at his desk, simply reading from an ancient tome of unknown origin. Funny, as much as he said his grandfather smelled of cabbages, he certainly held the same smell. I held in a laugh and slowly approached him, before he put down his book, and looked at me, seemingly as cheerful as ever.

_"What did you need, Miss Rose?"_

I looked over his desk, twiddled my fingers, and looked at him, slightly confused, wondering why he seemed so happy, despite the massive danger in our area.

_"Why are… You so… Happy?"_

I stumbled on the words for some reason, again. But he was quick to respond.

_"Why is there a reason to be sad, or angry?"_

I looked at him, stuttered, and meekly pointed outside, my gesture implying the danger of the giant, dinosaur Grimm, and how everyone else seemed scared, or shocked.

_"Are you… Not scared of that Grimm…?"_

He shook his head, gave a small, definitive laugh and looked at me, his face now concentrated, as if the next question took him years to ask.

_"Why would I be? Are you?"_

I tilted my head, and looked at him with an almost alien glance. He wasn't scared? I blinked a few times, before shifting, and looking at him, my gaze slowly turning to one of curiosity.

_"I… Well… Yes… It's hard NOT to be."_

He got up, and slowly looked at me, before gesturing for me to follow him over to a bookshelf. I watched as he heaved a seemingly old textbook from it, before throwing it onto the desk, seemingly wanting me to read. I subsequently flipped to the correct page, and slowly began reading on it. The name was… Terrifying to say the least.

_"Deus Statera: The God of Balance."_

All I could do was simply read on. I lost myself in it. People made the "Statera" as it was called, out to be some bloodthirsty monster… In reality, it just seemed… Lost? Hunting? The book said it wasn't harmful to humans, unless provoked. It certainly didn't harm us when it ventured into our cities, nor show any destructive tendencies.

_"Why did it come to a city then…?"_

I immediately thought of other ways for why it might've entered the city limits. The book stated that it wouldn't harm humans unless they aggravated it, however, the city in question lacked a true military force. Essentially a harmless production area. Same with its crime rate. Nonexistent, especially with the Grimm numbers on the rise. It seemed like everyone had banded together to fight them. Then, I realized one other possible reason: It had been LURED there. Not intentionally, but SOMETHING had brought it there, and the Deus had been subconsciously following it, only looking through the city out of curiosity. But this new variable creeped me out. If something held the power to lure this titan to us, even inadvertently, it most certainly held more power altogether... It might even be more dangerous than we could comprehend. However, the book made no reference to natural predators of the Statera. But it made note of its "cousin", the Uidisset. Also known as "The Boulder", which bore a massive resemblance to the former, barring some features on its body.

_"Could the... Ui- Uid-"_

_"Uidisset."_

_"Yes, thank you. Could it be alive? Possibly... Wanting to find this Deus...? Maybe the Deus followed it, and found our city."_

_"Alive? Yes. Wanting the Deus? No. It'd serve no purpose, and both species stay away from one another, god forbid there be a battle between them. However, as I said, it could possibly be alive. It operates on a scale similar to our resident Statera, killing Grimm en masse."_

The only thoughts running through my head was a colossal battle between two giants. It seemed so... Surreal... On a scale I'd never witnessed or thought of. The largest Grimm I'd seen was a Nevermore, but these things could easily crush Nevermore.

I looked up at Port, and slowly sighed, before tilting my head, keeping my new thoughts to myself.

_"It's only here to hunt…?"_

_"Only to hunt. Once it's finished hunting, it will leave for years, until this Grimm rise happens again. Chances are, he'll only be here for a few more days, or weeks. At most, a month."_

One word in that sentence made my blood run cold. He used "he'll", not "it'll"... Why did he personify it…? I quickly shrugged off the creepy thought, pressing it to the far reaches of my memory, before nodding.

_"So… You think we're safe from the Deus Statera?"_

Port looked at me with a face that went both ways, before shrugging.

_"We're not "safe", as much as we are at a decreased risk. It won't attack, if we don't provoke; easy to understand, of course. However, out of curiosity, how do you think our military will react upon seeing it, should it enter another city by chance, even if it means no harm?"_

The question was one I need not ponder.

_"They'll try to attack it."_

_"Exactly."_


	16. Nox Messorum

**-Nox Messorum- PoV: Deus Statera**

As my awareness and consciousness slowly tried to push away the grogginess of my senses, I let out a tired, exhausted snarl. I tried opening my eyes, once, twice, and then the third time, stably opening them. Feeling poured into my arms as I felt them move on their own. I let out another snarl, with more activity put into it. My eyes suddenly opened wide, as I brought my arms to push myself up from the ground. My legs gained balance as I pushed myself up from laying down. I stood, hunched over groggily. I rose to my feet, standing up straight. I felt nothing above my head, making me realize where I was. I was in the cave where I had fought my peculiar, multi-legged adversary. It all came back to me, the memories of what had occurred. My mind jolted back to awareness. I looked around, searching for the body of my skittery, eerily agile foe. I saw nothing. I let out a snarl of relief, knowing it had left. Then I thought...Where had it gone?

My mind was blank at first, and I simply looked around the cave. Then, as the rest of it came to me, I remembered. My mother. I looked around the floor near me, as I noticed the unique appearance of my mother. I crouched down to look at her. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving noticeably. I noticed how poorly she looked, how exhausted and worn out she was. I knew what I had to do. With both arms, I reached to my mother, scooping her up gently, having to rely on her own physical positioning to carefully pick her up. I rose slowly to my feet, being especially careful about her placement in my grasp. Only then did I realize the state of my thinking. I knew where to go, and what it meant, but why? Why did I want to bring her home so badly? I looked at her again, and I suddenly felt...Something. I didn't know what I had felt, but...I felt worried. Worried about whether my mother would remain in the poor condition she was in now. Like something needed to be done about her current state. I looked up, realizing I had wasted too much time. I had to take her back to her home.

I slowly marched out of the cave, taking my time and not rushing, as I did not want to disturb my injured mother. I jumped straight into the air, not wanting to have to take the extra care of holding her too closely, knowing that if I had done that, I may have shaken her. I hit the ground with a deep booming sound as the ground beneath my feet dented slightly with my footsteps. I stopped to glance at my mother, who was still laying there on her back, seeming lifeless. Even the way she was laying made her seem...Dead. I began to walk again, when I smelled something. It smelled like something was burning...It smelled like smoke. I heard a small squeak that sounded like a muffled, exhausted screech. I heard the sound of claws roughly scraping against rock. I turned. The noise was coming from around the corner. The screeching ceased as well as the scratching. However, it did not cease directly. It faded out slowly. As if those were the last few actions of a dying creature...

I held my mother in a slightly tighter grip, making sure not to constrict her weak body as I stepped slowly towards the corner. All sound had completely stopped, replaced with silence. As for the night sky, the way it looked may have been more purple than black, but there was an eerie fog where I stood. I slowly peered around the corner, the burning smell having completely dominated my nose. Around the corner, I saw movement. There was too much mist, shrouding the strange black mass. The fog slowly began to dissipate and scatter, revealing what it was shrouding. I made no sound. My eyes only widened, as I instinctively snarled at the blackness. It was enormous, towering over me as if it was something out of this world. It looked too big to be real. The back of the creature resembled an intimidating black cloak. The creature was massive. It seemed to walk on all fours. The creature rose, and it's head perked up with a swift but oddly eerie movement. The creature turned it's head.

The creature's body was enormous, but I couldn't make out the full shape of it, as it blended into the darkness. The bright, glowing red eyes drilled into me with no emotion, no feeling. A thought shot through my head as it stared at me. I just had the idea that this thing, whatever it was, knew I was there, but didn't see me as a threat at all. I stared at the creature, as it stared back at me. The glowing red eyes began to shake and shudder. Suddenly, they began to move with an eerie, ghostly afterglow. The creature seemed to slam it's arm into the ground loudly, turning around to face me intensely. The creature stared harder, as if it suddenly cared. But I couldn't tell.

Everything was silent. There was no sound at all. The only sound was silence. A deep, rapid sound that sounded almost like purring came out as a snarl from the creature. The being looked straight at me. It seemed to bring up both of it's strange frontal limbs, slamming them into the ground individually beside it. The creature began to rapidly shake, making a high-pitched snarling sound as it hunched it's back. It was still for a moment, before the being unleashed a powerful, vigorous, almost unearthly roar that vibrated the air and ground with an intense eeriness that was like the sound of darkness. The creature held the roar for a good few seconds, vibrating and rumbling the air around me as if it was an earthquake. The creature held the roar as it's body dissipated into millions of dark shadows that scattered as the creature vanished in a fit of darkness.

I stood there, shell-shocked. I could not roar or snarl in return, because what I had saw had felt so wrong...So eerie and sinister. Had I witnessed living darkness? I didn't want to ponder that question, when I noticed the lifeless carcass of my arachnid adversary.


	17. Essentia Gestis

**-Essentia Gestis- PoV: Ruby Rose**

I held a sad sympathy for Port. When he said "Exactly", I could hear the gravity, and pain in his voice. It shocked me, as he was always stoic and upbeat in his speaking tones.

_"Was he… saddened for the Statera's well being...? Better question, if this was true; WHY was he...? It was just a mindless monster… Wasn't it…?"_

I looked over the textbook, the article, and the wording again. It made the Statera out to be a machine of a creature. One that came, did its job, left, and did it all over again when situations demanded it's presence. I also felt a weird sympathy for it. It, and it's seeming companion. Mainly because all they seemed to know was to kill. I closed the book, and looked at Port, who seemed to just be daydreaming, his mind off somewhere else. Suddenly, a question overtook my mind. Its answer seemed obvious, but I asked it anyway:

_"Do you think the Statera is useless; that we should kill it, so that we could handle the Grimm on our own… Or do you see it as a helpful being, one we need to keep alive?"_

Port looked at me, his expression one of slight pain at my comment of killing it. He simply nodded, before breathing deeply.

_"This creature is one that should NEVER be destroyed by our hand. It holds the power to help us, and it won't harm us if we don't react. Sadly, it seems like our trigger happy superiors don't support that approach."_

His sense of sadness and hopelessness for the beast was a real mood-killer. Here was a man, who slew Grimm in his golden days, who taught about ways to kill them, to counter them, feeling SADNESS for the Grimm who'd shown up in recent days. He felt BAD for it. I couldn't even begin to understand what was running through his head, but I guessed his roots with something like a Statera ran deep and true through his veins. I decided to stop speaking of killing it, as even in my head, it didn't seem like a good idea anymore.

_"Do you think we could prevent anyone from attacking it? I mean, YOU could speak your mind to the-"_

He simply shook his head, cutting me off.

_"With a creature like this, only a slight few truly understand it. Everyone else? Bah, they simply want it gone because it's bigger than them, they don't care about it, if it helps, or if it has a legitimate purpose here. They just want it gone."_

His words were powerful, but true, and they drilled deep into my mind. I simply looked over him. He seemed defeated at his own wording. As if his own reality caught up and slammed him into the ground. Never have I seen such a bright man turned into a downtrodden, seemingly hopeless shell of himself. Over a Grimm nonetheless.

_"Ruby, I feel the need to show you something. You must keep this to yourself, as it's something that is not relatively known in our world."_

I looked at him, and tilted my head, as he seemed to shoot back into the mood to educate, a mood that both shocked and excited me. He pulled out another textbook, this one rather new in appearance, looking as if it had only been used a few times. He flopped it on his desk, and looked at me.

_"Have you heard of the act of "Essence Achievement"?"_

Me in my primitive knowledge, knew nothing on it, and I simply shook my head, afraid to say something, for fear of making myself seem stupid. However, Port, as if sensing my unease on the subject, waved his hand nonchalantly.

_"Don't feel dumb if you don't, I'd be shocked if you did. No one I know, besides a fellow instructor knows of it, and that was by my teaching. But, I guess the number will increase by one today."_

I walked over slowly, and looked over the textbook. It lacked a title, instead having a slate blue cover, and was bookmarked in many areas with small sheets of colored paper. He opened it to a purple marked page. It depicted a sketch. A sketch of a Beowolf, and a human, with the human giving the Grimm a heart, like a gift. The image made me laugh out loud, as it seemed too outlandish to be true. Like _we'd_ give them something. Port then looked at me, and made a playful smile, like a father would give her daughter, before looking at the page.

_"What do you see here, young lady?"_

_"A Grimm... Getting a present? The heart's a present? People love Grimm?"_

_"No, no and no. The heart is symbolic in nature, rather than physical."_

I smirked dorkishly, and simply shrugged, not knowing at all what the heart could mean symbolically to a Grimm.

_"Well, you know, how we're usually teaching you about how Grimm are "soulless"? Basically an empty, attacking shell?"_

_"Yes, from all your EXCITING lectures."_

The extra sarcasm in my tone was rewarded with a hearty chuckle, before he continued:

_"Well, it's possible, that this doesn't need to be the case, all the time. Secretly, I HAVE been doing some research on Grimm, and their emotional dynamics, alongside their mentality, and I'm sure Grimm DO have a soul, but it's "deactivated". Or simply, in hibernation. It's not gone. Or nonexistent. And recently, I DID manage to "unlock" the secret to allowing a Grimm to grow and adapt into having a soul. Remember that Boarbatusk I had Weiss combat in class a few months ago?"_

Indeed I knew, I recollected trying to help Weiss that day, only to be greeted by anger. I shuddered at the memory and nodded to Port.

_"That Grimm WAS "tamed" beforehand. I found out how to do it. It could have easily been considered a household pet. It was clean, proper and didn't attack me, or do anything hostile."_

I tilted my head and gave off a disbelieving snort.

_"How...?"_

_"How? I simply treated it as an equal. Took care of it, fed it. Basically, I treated it like we do with our canines and feline friends. I gave it the love I knew it lacked beforehand. You and I both know how the Grimm are to one another. Non-caring, cannibalistic. Etc."_

My thought shifted back to Blake upon hearing feline, remembering her cat-traits, before Port suddenly coughed.

_"With "canine and felines friends" I mean our actual pet friends, NOT Faunus. Excuse the blunder."_

I nodded, acknowledging his comment.

_"So... You actually tamed it. Was this the first one you've done this to?"_

_"No... It wasn't, but... Well... Grimm aren't necessarily "stable" in the sense they can be tamed easily or at all for that matter. What I did was probably that "1 in a million" shot. However, it DID prove my point: that Grimm do hold the capacity for bearing a soul. However, I would also assume certain Grimm have a higher possibility of this outcome, should it be tested again, on say, something like an Ursa. If they aren't receptive, they usually become more violent and brutal, resulting in their destruction by the offender's hand, or their death, assuming they don't kill it first."_

It was a ton of knowledge to take in, and most of it was beyond my comprehension. Grimm? Having a soul? Caring? It seemed like a fairy tale. The next question escaped my mouth fast and blunt.

_"So, what HAPPENED to the Boarbatusk to make it aggressive again? You SAID you tamed it, so what went wrong?"_

_"Nothing went "wrong", per say. I simply just stopped caring for it, to see what would happen, and it reverted to a primal state, back to square one. In conclusion? I believe that Grimm can "develop and build onto" their souls via attachment. The Boarbatusk was that way with me, grew attached to me, and its niceness lasted as long as it knew I cared for it. But as soon as it went into the cage, and I stopped caring for it, it went back to its old, soulless ways. Hence its aggressiveness to Weiss upon release."_

I looked at Port, then the sketch, before stretching, and sitting down.

_"Why did you decide to tell me this now?"_

_"Because of a rather shocking little news tidbit I heard from a presumably confidential conversation between Ozpin, and someone on his scroll. Remember how the Statera "attacked" a city, outside of Vale?"_

_I nodded rapidly, hoping no one was hurt, although I knew it was nearly impossible for it to have ended that way. As Blake once said: "__Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale"."_

___"It came back.____"_

___"W-what!? Did... Did it hurt anyone?"_

Port looked at me with a face of shock, and bewilderment.

_"No... It brought a human back to our city. Didn't harm her or attack the settlement. Just dropped her. It wasn't just some random person it brought back..."_

_"Who...?"_

_"It was Blake Belladonna."_

My jaw dropped from the two words. BLAKE?! She WAS ALIVE! My happiness both shot up, while my own questions increased in number.

_"Wait... The Statera... Brought her BACK?"_

_"Yes... Much to everyone's confusion. Multiple people saw it happen too, so it's no prank, or joke."_

_"Do you think...?"_

_"I do."_


	18. Shock and Awe

**-Shock and Awe- PoV: Joint Chapter (Will Alternate Between Characters)**

**PoV: Deus Statera**

I was in utter shock. This creature was unlike any other I'd seen before, and I didn't even manage to see the whole thing, and all its details! It was just a freakish, black, intimidating mass. The most frightening feature, were the glowing red eyes. Luckily, I could tell I was closer to my destination, as I could see the glow of the monuments over the trees. There was haste in my actions. I felt desperate. I realized it came from my want to help my mother. She seemed sick, and she wasn't waking up, but she WAS breathing. I didn't want this... "THING" getting her. I kept trudging on.

**PoV: City Mayor**

I had been wanting to assess the city's damage for a few days, but hadn't had the time to considering I had to be the single person writing. However, it finally seemed like things might be shaping up how I wished for them to. Unlike most places I went to, I decided to take a personal land vehicle, considering Airship's weren't an option with how closed in the city was in the damaged region. I was grateful that it wasn't far either, although, it also added to my aggravation, as I didn't see a point in waiting to travel here, when I could've done it in a few measly moments. Immediately, upon entering the area, I could see all the damage and traces that remained of the creature in question.

**PoV: Deus Statera**

Closer, and closer, and closer. I seemed to keep getting closer, but not THERE. I kept moving forward, and my hand loosened around my mother. I could feel her body tense up, and relax, as if she were moving. I looked down, and indeed, she was! I stopped moving, and simply stared at her as she awoke and looked around.

Finally, her gaze locked onto me, and she simply made a gesture with her mouth, she bared her teeth, while her lips curved upwards. Originally, I'd thought this action was hostile, but I grew to understand it was a good gesture. I couldn't make the same gesture back without looking intimidating however. She weakly held up her hand, and made the same motion; making a fist, while keeping her one finger upwards, in a congratulatory manner, before motioning for me to keep moving, as she saw where we were headed, finally seemingly falling back into her sleep.

**PoV: City Mayor**

I think the workers and my associates could see the look on my face as I grimaced at the destruction.

"This… Is horrible…"

My blood froze. It was an understatement. I was informed that during the night, an apartment complex had had its foundation destroyed from the earlier attack, and had ended up collapsing onto the already destroyed miniature housing complex, so I thought I was ready for the sight. I wasn't in the least.

Bodies were everywhere, despite most medical center's efforts to swiftly, and respectfully clear them out for identification and burial. Some were crushed, others charred from the raging fires which were quelled by water. However, the worst sight came from those who were still alive. They were crying in pain, or fear, with large, brutal wounds, gashes, and broken, or even destroyed limbs. I kept a calm composure, not wanting to demoralize those around me, before swiftly locating the building's manager, and pulling him to the side, and speaking my orders in a brisk, and authoritative tone.

_"The collateral damage is through the ROOF here, I need you, and EVERYONE else involved in this to section off this city block. I'd hate to have people run off, or start spreading rumors."_

_"Obviously."_

_"Watch the tone. You do your job, I don't get pissy, and fire you. Simple. Got it?"_

He simply sighed, nodded, and left to begin quarantining the area, as I slowly made my way to the edge of the building's foundations remains. I realized I had wandered over to the ruins of the building. IN them to be exact, and I simply froze; in awe at the destruction.

**PoV: Deus Statera**

I was close, in the final stretch into my destination. I could make out each monument and light source, but I was still blocked by a few trees, and a clearing. Suddenly, smaller species stepped into my path. They were black, and white, with red colored eyes, much like myself in a reflection. Immediately, I knew they were hostile.

They all got into an attack stance and growled at me. All of them were hunched over, reminding me of the haunting creature from the evening before, and they were on four legs. A threat? Hardly. Almost on instinct, I spun my body, swinging my massive tail through the air; only a few managed to evade the powerful blow, as it crushed all in its way. I could feel each of them as they were hit; each bone break, each death.

Once I had fully spun around, I looked over my attack. The dead creatures were strewn out over the clearing, while the remainders were either too frightened to move, or ran off after I gave a deep, low, rumbling snarl towards them. I slowly bent down, and began devouring the deceased animals. I hadn't eaten in days, and it felt so good just to chew on something other than dirt or rocks. Once I had satiated myself, I began trodding back to my mother's home, with a newer, greatly needed energy.


	19. Family First

**-Family First- PoV: Joint Chapter (Will Alternate Between Characters)**

**PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I was beyond tired; hurting, aching. The battle with the Death Stalker, despite my lack of participation, had really kicked my ass nine ways to Sunday. I felt like SOMETHING was broken. I couldn't move myself too much, barring a slight head tilt due to the pain, but I somehow ended up curling into a ball on my side, gritting my teeth. I wanted to die, I felt like I was. I knew Deus was carrying me, but I wondered WHY he was.

_"Did he really want to help me…?"_

I slowly brushed the thought away, knowing it was a thought for another time. However, all I could remember, was the terrifying creature he saw. I could tell he was terrified. My more animalistic senses could feel it, and he seemed… Jumpy… Scared... I just wanted nothing more than to comfort him. Tell him it'd be fine. Against my body's want to stay silent in it's pain, I slowly began to sing, holding back grimaces and grunts of pain:

_"Don't you worry about the dark,_

_I will light up the night with the love in my heart._

_I will burn like the sun,_

_I will keep you safe and warm."_

**PoV: City Mayor**

The ruins were widespread, massive. It seemed like the building had collapsed outwards, with only the thin, hollow walls of the base of the building still standing. I doubt anyone on the top floor survived the collapse. It was too violent. Too fast. They probably didn't even know what had happened. Only that they were falling. Quietly, all I could do was mutter:

_"Shit."_

What did I do about this? All Mayor's of a city, were looked up upon to protect their citizens and city, no matter the cost. But those other Mayors didn't have to contend with a goddamn death machine, which destroys our creations and wreaks havoc on our populace. I was furious. I had no way out of this. I couldn't HIDE the damned thing! Its footprint was wider than one goddamn lane! My mind went blank, and I tilted it towards the ground, before realizing something which nearly made me shit myself.

The ground was shaking. However, it was slow, methodical. Like…footsteps.

**PoV: Deus Statera**

I heard my mother making those beautiful noises I remembered from my younger days, and immediately, I began to relax in mindset. Nothing seemed terrifying with her continuing her noises. I continued on, now less scared than before. I began wondering if that terrifying creature could even scare me if my mother was doing this in its presence.

However, now my movements were slower than usual, as if my relief that help for my mother was close had slowed me down somehow. I tried to speed up my pace, and starting stepping at a brisk pace, before tripping and suddenly falling. I fell sideways, as I moved to not crush the hand my mother was in. The entire world seemed to slow down as I fell, and the sound upon slamming into the ground was immensely loud, reverberating throughout the entire landscape, making everything within my sight shake and shudder.

I was beyond tired. I simply laid down, unable, and not wanting to move. My breathing rate slowed down as I tried to calm myself down, and I slowly uncurled my hand, before letting out an exhausted snarl as I saw my mother, safe, in my hand, still making her soft, reassuring noises. I desperately began to drag myself towards the settlement of my mother's kind. I couldn't stop… What if that THING came back after her…? Walking could wait.

**PoV: City Mayor**

The ground suddenly quaked violently, everything shook, and a loud "Bang" echoed through the hills and buildings, disturbing the rubble I stood in.

_"Had another building fell!?"_

I quickly climbed out of the ruins, and began walking around, investigating, while everyone else seemed to be in a severe panic over the noises and sounds. I looked at each large building and skyscraper. None showed damage, or any sign of falling. So what had created the noise?

_"Someone! Tell me what the Hell happened!?"_

Someone quickly jogged over to me, and quickly began pointing to the surrounding forest, his motions were frenzied, and he seemed frightened. I didn't see it at first, but my blood froze upon seeing it. It was a creature. MASSIVE in size, dragging itself into the city. It was using only one hand, the other still clenched shut in the form of a fist. I immediately thought that this was the bastard who had wrecked the city, and instantly, I shot into a silent rage, before angrily stalking my way over to it. No one stopped me, either frozen in fear by the sight, or not wanting to stop the man who seemingly wanted to kick the shit out of the massive Grimm dinosaur creature. As I got closer, I could easily make out the white markings on its skull and arms, while also taking a long look at its piercing red, seemingly glowing eyes. They alone were massive compared to myself as a whole.

_"What the Hell was a man like me supposed to do to this anim-"_

My thoughts were immediately cut off, as it pushed itself off of the ground, into a standing position, half of its body was still in the forest, further emphasizing the size of it. I fell onto my ass from the sheer scale of it. It was massive in height, possibly one hundred feet tall. In a shocking twist, its fist suddenly lowered, and it pressed its hand to the ground, before uncurling its fingers. A younger girl slid from them, and it carefully laid her in the grass, however, she grasped its finger, seemingly not wanting to let go. The creature gave a subtle shake of its finger, before she complied, and let go, leaning back to lay on her back, looking up at it.

I stopped moving, in shock by the action. I was in awe; at the size of the monster, its entrance, and its subsequent actions.

_"Did it REALLY just bring… One of our own back to us…?"_

I simply stared at the girl for a few moments, she seemed hesitant about the beast leaving her, and as I approached, I saw how dirty and damaged she was. I quickly beckoned medical personnel over, and they got her onto a stretcher, without much resistance, where she was swiftly and safely taken to an emergency vehicle. I looked back up at where the creature was, and was surprised at how much ground it had covered. It was already heading back the way it presumably came, and shockingly, it turned its head to the side, looking at us, before turning around and continuing.

_"It… Didn't harm us…"_

Millions of thoughts began running through my head; and I was swiftly pushed into the mindset that this creature, whatever it may be, wasn't as harmful as I thought. It could've destroyed us, if it wanted, but it didn't. It didn't make any threatening gestures, or sounds, and it seemed… almost desperate to help the girl in his possession. The most shocking point to me, was that it was a GRIMM. It was SUPPOSED to be a killer. We'd been fighting them for so long... What happened to make THIS ONE of all Grimm, nicer than the rest? Before the ambulance containing the girl left, I quickly entered it; as I had a few questions to ask her.


	20. Of Monsters and Man

**Author's Notes: I'm VERY sorry for the delay, as I've been both busy, and trying to expand chapters, as I feel some are too short. Remember, kids: Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card. Also, do note, at the moment, I prefer to think Aura is the thing which "heals" Hunters and Huntresses, much like Jaune's Semblance.**

**-Of Monsters and Man- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I didn't want to let Deus go off, alone. I could barely bear to let go of his finger. However, as soon as I did, I was picked up off of the ground, and taken to an ambulance. It really did feel like I was dying. Breathing was difficult, moving was. Hell, blinking took a lot of energy. The bouncing of the vehicle didn't help either. I tried to sleep, but all I could remember was the terrifying visage of the shadow creature from the cave. It was stalking me, us. Him. I wanted to know what is was, and where it came from.

The world faded, and turned black multiple times, I could tell I'd been passing out. Every time I did, all I dreamed of this new threat. It haunted me. Sometimes I felt like it had purposely implanted itself in my mind, simply to screw with me. I made the mistake of trying to move, only to inadvertently scream as a lance of pain shot up my body. The personnel with me quickly pushed me back onto the stretcher, and told me repeatedly to calm down and remain still. I could barely hear them now, but I bluntly heard "broken bones" and " multiple lacerations".

_"Great… Plurals on injuries… Just perfect..."_

I blacked out again, and the next time I awoke, I was being wheeled into a building. Hospital obviously. I looked around, my amber eyes looking over all the people and equipment. It was ironically empty. I shuddered and let out a sigh, before looking for my weapon, where was it? It was on my person before I passed out…

_"W-where… Is my weapon!?"_

I barely uttered the term, before someone laid my weapon beside me. I looked over to see who did it, only to see my silver eyed, pale, black-clad teammate. Ruby. I blinked multiple times, despite the massive pain to see if what I saw was real. It was. SHE was! I hadn't seen her in days, and I'd hoped she was okay! My mouth widened to a smiling state as she followed the people wheeling me to a hospital bed. She may have been rather oblivious to this, but her loyalty was undeniable, and I couldn't be more happier at her clinginess, as it brought out her caring nature. As they laid me down in the hospital bed, they ran an X-Ray over my body, scanning my body. I could see all my injuries. My shoulder was dislocated, I had a few broken fingers, wrist fractures, and a spine that had multiple fractures. My legs were fine, mainly, lacking any injuries, and I apparently had a concussion. Despite my uncomfortable feelings, which would normally make me shift and squirm, I dare not move, lest I send another jolt of pain through my body.

Long ago, this would've been a crippling injury; now? It'd be healed in a few days, with my Aura being able to take the brunt of the blow. The people tending to me told me my Aura had already done much work, and had fixed multiple fractures in my arms, with my wrists, and forearms already being healed, despite just seeing them in an injured state. They positioned my arms and back in a certain position, so the healing process wouldn't leave my bones bent, or malformed. A man claiming to be the Mayor of a city nearby had asked to see me. Of course, I didn't hesitate to accept the invite to meet, as I knew instinctively it was about the circumstances which happened earlier. I desperately wished to plead my side of the story, maybe then the people could see more than one side. One from the side which has EXPERIENCED the creature first hand. Maybe they'd listen.

Ruby finally entered the room after the people tending to me left, before she sat down next to my bed. I remember how clueless she was to the situation. I hope this changed her views.

_"How long are you confined to bedrest?"_

_"A few days only. I should be able to walk without puking tomorrow…"_

Sadly the last thing was true. Moving my head made my vision swim, so I basically had to remain still, or risk vomiting from the vertigo. Surprisingly, Ruby grasped my hand, comfortingly, and it was a feeling I heavily enjoyed, given my rather known tendency to stay alone, I had never experienced it truly. My hands were either wrapped around my weapon, or a book, but never another friend's hand. I let out a content sigh, and slowly let my eyes close, wanting to rest, suddenly Ruby's voice broke my thoughts, and the silence.

_"What happened…?"_

Without opening my eyes, I spoke in a soft, rather secluded voice.

_"Well… It's a rather... shocking story…"_

_"I have time to listen."_

_"Well, I left Beacon because I wanted to follow the "dinosaur Grimm"."_

I added some sarcasm onto the last two words, knowing what it truly was to me.

_"The Statera?! Really?!"_

I could hear Ruby's excitement in her voice alone, yet, also in her body language, as her hand's grip on mine tightened upon the words escaping my mouth. It reminded me of a mother reading her child a fairy tale. I was also surprised she knew his name.

_"Yes, Ruby. And to be blunt, I succeeded. I found him. He's a sight to behold."_

_"Is it vicious? Did it kill everything in its way? I can imagine it toppling buildin-"_

_"Ruby…"_

She looked at me with a worried gaze.

_"What? Are you okay? Do you need something?"_

_"He isn't some "random killer", nor does he topple buildings."_

_"Then how come that city has has two buildings destroyed, when only IT was there?"_

_"I don't know… But when I visited the city AFTER that "attack", before going to the mountain, the only building destroyed was a medium sized housing complex, and that was after Deus was gone. Even so, I am 99% sure he didn't destroy it while he was there. His footprints weren't present at the site of the destruction. Something ELSE is at work here… And something ELSE destroyed the second building, SOMEHOW without us seeing it."_

I opened my eyes slowly, only to watch as Ruby tilted her head towards my sentence.

_"Something… Else? Like what?"_

_"You keep this to yourself… But I've encountered something that scared me more than the Statera. Deep in the Emerald Forests."_

Her eyes widened, and she looked out the window, before shuddering visibly.

_"Did you see it...?"_

_"No… But that's what scared me… I could FEEL its presence. It seemed… Sinister, hostile. But it didn't attack me._

_"What did it do then?"_

_"It… Felt like it was trying to enter my mind. Probe it. It's a feeling I never want to experience again. I got a sense of dread, and caution, simply from being around it, whatever it was. I ALSO felt and heard its presence in the cave, before finding the Statera. It had to have been no more than two feet from me when it breathed into my ear. The sound was unmistakable, and frightening. I could tell from the sound alone, it was massive."_

_"And you have no idea what it actually was?"_

_"No, only those dual experiences..."_

I shook my head slowly, causing a dull pain,which ebbed slowly, before looking at Ruby.

_"You know the scariest part of the creature…?"_

_"What?"_

_"Deus was scared of it…"_

_"Deus? Is that your pet name for it?"_

_"He isn't a "pet". He's a creature that holds the power to destroy us if he wished."_

_"Then why DOESN'T it? If it has ALL this power, why doesn't it destroy us? Also, why do YOU personify this Grimm?"_

_"Because... I've grown attached to it- HIM."_

I looked down, almost embarrassed, before a small fire grew into an inferno upon the next comment.

_"He's a monster."_

_"HE'S A FRIEND."_

_"My God... You managed to do "THAT", didn't you?"_


	21. Gamechanger

**-Gamechanger- PoV: Joint Chapter (Will Alternate)**

**PoV: Ruby Rose**

Blake looked at me, confused at my statement, while I looked at her, shocked at her implication. Did she… Manage to become friends with a monster like the Statera…? HOW?! I knew it was possible, but the idea of befriending one of such SCALE seemed surreal. Like… This thing, in its most literal form, was meant for killing, not "friending".

_"Did you… Tame it…?"_

_"Tame him?"_

_"E-essence Achievement. THAT."_

_"What the Hell are you saying, Ruby?"_

_"Th-The THING. That you can use, to tame Grimm. Port taught me how."_

_"Port? Okay, okay, okay. What. Are. You. Saying?"_

I began to ramble on, how Grimm possibly aren't all soulless, and how you could "tame" one to be non-hostile around people. I then went on about how Port tamed the Boarbatusk Weiss fought beforehand, and subsequently let it become feral again. She seemed to listen intently, and didn't interrupt me once, before I took a deep breath, and finally finished.

Blake then looked over me, before nodding.

_"You're saying I tamed him?"_

_"Exactly."_

_"Makes too much sense… But… That ALSO leads to a more scary thought…"_

_"What?"_

_"What if he goes completely feral in my absence? What if he goes on a rampage, and I. Can't HELP. Him?"_

**PoV: Deus Statera**

This felt awkward. Living by myself, without my mother to help me, or guide me. It wasn't hard. just awkward. Although, I could finally do what felt natural. Hunt. I got the drive to seek out a fight, and as such, I wandered into a valley, filled with rocky structures, seemingly trying to reach the sky. The ground was greener than anything I'd usually seen, and the sky was blue, with the large light blazing in the sky.

My first encounter alone involved a massive flying species, which resided in this area, hiding behind some rocks, stalking me, or, at least, it was trying to. It was black, much like me, with massive wings. Eerily like the Shadow Creature I saw only a night ago. But it wasn't it. It lacked the specific "scent" to it, and the ability to strike that awkward sense of fear into me. A rare feeling. I only felt it around THAT creature… I shook the thoughts out of my head, focusing on this new "threat". It was barely bigger than I was, and it pushed itself into the sky, before unleashing a massive barrage of sharpened feathers at me. I swiftly raised my arm, causing the projectiles to embed in it, making me to snarl in pain.

It didn't seem like it wanted to run, something it should've chosen to do. I charged the creature, and in my movements, it flew forward, and tackled me, however, my strength easily overcame its own, and I pushed it back without problem, sending it through trees before finally stopping as I slammed it into a rock wall. I was shocked at how powerful I seemed compared to this creature, since the LAST enemy I had encountered had easily been able to stand its ground. Suddenly, an unseen adversary slammed into my back, causing me to collide with my prey, pushing us both through the rock wall. I could barely see through the dust as I hit the ground, but I made out the shape of the massive flying creature, alongside another one.

Two of them… THIS would be a challenge… One flew forward and began to grapple with me, however, its hands were frail, and I crushed them to bits, a midst multiple snaps and crunches, and the pained screeches of my adversary. The now bright light of the day, and settled dust gave me a clear few as I pushed forward, however, I felt the second enemy grab my tail, and pull me away from the one I was currently bending to my will, causing me to try and step forward, only to slip and fall forward, nearly crushing the first. I became more furious with my actions, snapping at the first with my jaws while still on the ground. The second avian enemy, still airborne however, stopped me short of my prize, slamming into my chest with its body, knocking the wind out of me.

I rolled onto my stomach, and tried to push myself up, only to get struck again, this time, on my skull, stunning me, and making my vision swim. I couldn't focus, or hit my attackers. I flailed wildly, before grasping one enemy by the foot, and pulling it to my level. I held it close to me, and in the direction of my secondary adversary's repeated slashes, humorously causing it to gut my foe with ease, killing it for me. I hauled the first, now dead creature off, before the second closed in, intent on my destruction. It slammed into me, gripping my shoulders tightly with its talons, before dragging me backwards. I could only grasp its tail feathers, but any attempt to rip them out was met with an insanely painful stab in both my shoulders from its sharp claws. Suddenly, it let go, and I slammed back first into a rock face, my spines embedding deep into the rocks, essentially pinning me.

The massive creature then flew out, away from me, before barreling at me, full speed, intent on impaling me with its beak. I began to panic and try to pull away from the rock, only managing to pull myself slightly free. The creature came closer, and I kept pulling, tearing, and bashing the rock behind me, trying my damnedest to escape. Suddenly, I lurched forward, the rock behind me crumbling as my spines came free, my panic switching to full on aggression. I charged full force, ready to tear this adversary apart with my bare hands! We came within an arm's reach, and suddenly I barely saw something out of my peripheral, then, my whole world was rocked, slammed into. Both I, and the creature I fought went tumbling sideways, with myself coming to a rest on my stomach, vision blurred and skewed from the massive blow.

I could barely raise my head, as it was furiously pounding, my ears ringing and my body aching. I looked around, dust was clouding my vision, however, I made out the silhouette of the flying monster. It picked itself up quickly, moved towards me, about to finish me, before it suddenly cowered. Then, the silhouette of a foot slammed down near me. It shook the ground as it was moving closer to the wounded enemy. It looked… Surprisingly like me… But… Larger. Suddenly, much to my shock, it hauled the creature up by the wings with ease and clamped its jaws around the being's head, before brutally tearing it off, a midst a loud, angered, guttural snarl, creating an audible crunch and final, panicked squawk from the prey. I looked up at the new creature, and it looked down at me, before bending down to my level, an expression of annoyance on its face, its jaws lined with red. Apparently, due to lack of interest, or neutrality to me, it sniffed me, and turned its head away, hauling its prey with it. I just lay on the ground, hoping it'd leave without hostile intent or a second thought, before closing my eyes slowly. When I opened them, it was gone. Nowhere in sight. My prey, which had its gut spilled, was only a few feet away. So, I promptly picked myself up, shook the dust off my body, and began to gorge on the carcass.


	22. The Darkness Watches

**Author's Notes: I am SO SORRY for the massive delay in between chapters! I've been struck by a heavy writer's block, which was recently overcome by a nightmare I was victim to. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, and once again, reviews help me improve and work on a story, _for_ the fans.**

**-The Darkness Watches- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

Day, night, day, night. I'd counted two of each. Two days had passed since Ruby had spoken to me about Deus. What she had said made sense. Surprising, as she was usually filled with a bubbly nonsense that irked me slightly. However, it made me ponder what could happen. What IF he became feral? I came upon him by chance. Tamed him by accident, and became attached by sheer circumstance. If he became feral, would I be able to stop him? I highly doubt I ever could. This creature could demolish towns by ACCIDENT. I could only imagine what he'd do when specifically targeting buildings if he became feral.

No one was around anymore, I think they just expected me to get up and leave at some point, considering I was doing better. I could move around quite well, and was able to rotate my wrists, move my legs and stand, all without either gaining the nauseating sensation of vertigo and light-headedness. I cleaned up all I had misplaced in my time here, and looked around for staff, excusing myself for an hour, before leaving. Little did they know, I'd be gone for longer than an hour. I promptly donned my usual apparel, before walking briskly out of the hospital. Much to my aggravation, people had discovered my Faunus traits upon a certain removal of my bow. This had led to a few certain staff members avoiding me. Why couldn't people just view me for WHO I was, and not WHAT I was? Maybe this was how Deus felt. Maybe he felt alienated, discriminated, unwanted, only because of his size and appearance. I could see how the human element would force those views on him, but that they refused to look at him on the level I did annoyed me to no end. With my weapon placed on my back, I stepped out, back into the open world.

I didn't know where exactly I was. I knew I was in Vale still, judging by the city's appearance as a whole. I entered an apartment complex to reach the roof, hoping to gain a height advantage, all the while, listening to everyday banter from people in their rooms. I picked up some conversations, one including the "giant dinosaur roaming around". I pressed an ear to the door, and awkwardly eavesdropped as the person spoke of its "destructive" and "hostile" nature. I scowled and stalked off, making my way to an elevator, and sitting in silence as it ascended. When I got to the roof, I took in my surroundings. I was near the edge of Vale, close to a forest. However, unlike most days, where it was a clear view past the forest, today held a thick fog which covered both a part of the forests, and the mountains beyond them.

I looked down from the rooftop, pinpointed three areas to which I could bound and jump in between, before swiftly jumping my way down between two buildings, landing in an alley. I then dusted myself off, looked around, saw nothing and swiftly exited, before suddenly bumping into Tukson, causing him to stumble back, his books falling to the ground. However, he immediately recognized me and hugged me tightly.

_"Blake!"_

He said the words with a cheery demeanor and let me go, his presence actually made me smile.

_"Hi! What brings you to this side of the town? Your book trade isn't anywhere near here."_

_"I had a simple package to receive. You know, the one you knocked from my grasp, to the floor."_

I simply let out a soft, near inaudible laugh, before picking each book up, and handing them to him, however, he firmly grabbed my wrist and looked at me, letting out a soft whisper.

_"Blake… We need to have a talk about your… Recent events…"_

I nodded, instinctively knowing what this was about, before following him, as he entered a building, seemingly abandoned, with a layout strikingly familiar to his own shop. It had a desk in the back, with a door leading to what I guessed was a backroom. He seated himself at the desk, and I stood in front of him.

_"Blake… What happened?"_

_"I assume you heard the news?"_

_"Yes, the Statera brought you back to us."_

_"Wait… How'd YOU know his name?"_

"I'd read up on it, it's an interesting specimen indeed, but what gets me, is that it's a Grimm. It's soulless. How did it seemingly "grow a heart" and bring you to a city WITHOUT harming you, before leaving, not killing anyone else?"

_"They aren't soulless… We mistook hibernation as soullessness."_

_"Hibernation?"_

_"Long story short, their souls are simply "hibernating". Not gone for good. They just need to be "activated", much like our Aura."_

Tukson nodded, and sighed deeply.

_"You know, anyone else you'd try to tell you this, would think you're nuts?"_

I nodded and looked down, feeling a subtle tad of embarrassment.

_"I don't believe you're lying to me, nor do I believe you're nuts."_

_"Yeah, tell that to everyone else. However, I best be going. I have an important meeting I must attend to."_

_"Do what you must. I'll be here, or at my Book Trade, as usual. Good luck in your travels."_

_"Tukson."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Stay out of the forests."_

He nodded, and gave me a soft smile, before I turned and walked out of the door, ironically, towards the foggy forests I just warned him to stay away from. I didn't even know where the Statera was, but of course, I was running out again, trying to find him. Why the Hell was I doing this? He could fend off on his own… So why did I keep returning to him? Maybe I'd never know the answer. I'd finally reached the edge of the forest, and looked around. It was pure treeline, as far as I could see. Where exactly did I enter? An answer was swiftly granted by the appearance of a path to my right. A quick look into the forest unnerved me. It seemed off, but I guessed my paranoia on the cave creature was getting to me. Slowly, hesitantly, I moved into it.

I kept walking through the forest, before I exited the narrow path I was following, only to enter a circular clearing. I looked around, looking for signs of hints of wherever the Statera could be, or could have gone. I observed the area carefully, slowly. I was eager to find the Statera, though this sudden eagerness did not have a foundation for it's reason in my mind. I didn't care, because the desire to see him made unnecessary the need for a purpose to find him.

"Where was he...?"

Suddenly, I heard a loud, deep booming sound. It came from beyond the amalgamation of trees before me, as I noticed a flock of ravens and birds scattering into the air directionally away from the same specific area. Deus? Was he here? Was that him? I wasn't sure, but for some odd reason, my thought patterns implied that I would have gone towards the sound even if I didn't think it was Deus. I suddenly noticed the deafening silence that had been lingering since the loud noise. Eager to see what had caused the noise, I sprinted into the trees, dashing quickly, comforted ever-so-slightly by the sound of crunching leaves beneath my quick-moving feet.

As my movement instinctively slowed down, I heard something beyond the sound of the crunching leaves, as I ceased my rapid footsteps. With my sensitive Faunus ears, I heard a sizzling sound. It was unnatural in multiple ways, seeing as how I was in a forest. What in a forest could possibly make a sizzling sound? I looked around again, trying to find hints of what the noise could have been. I looked behind me, then to my sides around me, and I swore I had seen silhouettes and shadows weaving behind the trees, dancing in the darkness. In sudden fear and confusion, I ran forward, letting the oddly satisfying feeling of the crunching of leaves be my only ally.

Unexpectedly, I ran into something, grunting at the sudden physical contact I had made with the physical mass before me. It was strange and unique, due to how wall-like it seemed, and yet it felt...Natural. It felt like part of the nature around me, for some reason. I looked down, only to notice something very strange. It was a small puddle of what looked like fresh, shiny tar. It was bubbling softly as I crouched down to get a closer look at it. It was a sizzling. Could it have been the source of the strange noise I had heard earlier while wading through the forest? In a fit of stupidity in the form of curiosity, I gently poked it. I made an eep sound as the strange substance singed my finger with heat and sizzling. I didn't bother to observe the substance, it already had an uncomfortable burning property to it. It didn't seem to come off at all, as I shaked my finger in pain and confusion.

I froze, the topic of my toasted finger being pushed away from the forefront of my thinking, as I heard a plopping sound. I looked near me, only to see another puddle of the strange tar-like substance. It seemed to be coming from above my head. I looked up to see the origin of the goo, as a chill of goosebumps streaked down my spine, spreading all over my body, the hair on my arms, neck, and legs standing up straight, as I felt the bright, glowing red orbs that strikingly resembled a pair of eyes, staring into me, unblinking, unmoving, with an eerie glow that seemed unearthly. A volcano of terror, confusion, anxiety, and reminiscence of nightmares erupted inside of me. I couldn't feel my body's capability of moving.

I felt paralyzed by the uncanny, alien glow of the red eyes that pierced into me with a sense of terror and lack of feeling. It stared, not making any direct sound as the only noise other than the deafening silence was the sound of the sizzling, black substance. I noticed where the liquid was coming from. The tar-like matter was coming from it. It was the saliva of the strange...Thing. A sense of dread and fear of unknown rattled my body, making it shudder. A single thought lurked at the back of my mind, shuffled and scattered within all the fear and confusion and anxiety. It was a burning curiosity that I KNEW I would not know soon enough, and I FELT the helplessness and pointlessness of the question:

"JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS I LOOKING AT?"

The hair all around my body stood up and froze as I felt myself being smothered in goosebumps from head to toe. My eyes watered as I stared at the eerie glowing eyes that had began to shake and shudder in a fit of ghostly motions. There was a literal afterglow of them. There was a sudden, brief, high-pitched chirping sound that seemed to come from within the being, as it's eyes began to tremble. It moved slowly. It's mouth opened slowly. It's upper body began to rapidly jitter and squirm where it stood in a spooky, eldritch fashion. It's head shuddered. The being stably entered a stance, as it continued to shake for another moment, before unleashing a mountainous, monstrous, enormously ferocious and violent shriek that rattled and shook the earth with such a powerful, vigorous magnitude that shook the ground. How a creature could unleash such a roar was beyond me. I backed away, as the creature brought up it's massive arm, only to shoot it towards the ground at me.

I evaded the attack, somehow regaining my senses and awareness at that time. I crawled backwards in fear and distress, cowering in the corner and curling myself up, scared, simply wanting whatever the THING before me was to just leave. It shrieked again, brief, as it's roar was countered by another roar. This roar was different. The roar echoed across the mountains and earth, vibrating the air with a vicious, aggressive ambiance to it. However, for some odd reason, it seemed more like a triumphant roar. Like a roar that seemed to directly counter the unsettling, seemingly hostile unearthliness of the roar of the creature before me.

My mind had shifted briefly away from the concept of the being before me, before the roar ended. I smiled, as I realized the roar had come from the Statera. I looked to the creature before me. It brought it's head up slowly to look ahead of it, in a manner that implied a calm outlook upon the manner of the presence of the Statera. The unearthly creature before me let out a snarl, before it leaned back, seemingly standing on it's two hind legs, spreading it's wings, and darting forward, mowing down the trees before it. The ground rumbled with each step as it charged in the direction of the Statera. I didn't move until it had exited my range.

My mind shifted back to the encounter, and my heart began to instinctively beat faster as the images flashed in my head. I sighed, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm myself. What was I looking at? Why was it there? So many questions rifled through my head, but I knew they would not be answered for some time.


	23. Where You Walk, the Darkness Follows

**-Where You Walk, the Darkness Follows- PoV: Deus Statera**

The meat from my previous kill had satiated me for a few days at least, it had been the best meal I had ever eaten in months. As I lied down, recharging myself from the recent events, I suddenly felt a poke, a subtle, almost unfelt spark. I felt my body...Move. I felt my body try to balance itself, to stand up. I let out a fatiguing snarl, as the feeling retaliated, and continued to lay there, still resting, before my eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the sharp glare of the moon. I simply rested there for a few minutes before opening my eyes fully. I snarled and groaned deeply as I felt my stomach sour, while I also struggled to lay on my side as I breathed slowly. I let out another snarl, as I rolled slowly over on my stomach again, and began pushing myself up and off the ground. I snarled again, not knowing exactly what to do. I looked around, noticing mountain surrounding me.

My senses began to come to me, as my vision snapped into place, while my hearing also re-calibrated itself. Feeling the need to ventilate and purge myself of all tiredness, I puffed my chest out, preparing to roar, before I heard something. It was...Different from any sound I had ever heard before. I caught myself in the process of preparing to roar, as I heard a sizzling sound from my surroundings. I looked around, observing the surface of the ground carefully, before suddenly, as I looked up and turned, I saw the great, big, emotionless red eyes of my shadowy adversary. I stepped back frantically, falling onto my back, causing the ground to shake and shudder under my enormous weight, as I carelessly lost my footing. A midst my confusion and obviously startled mindset, I briefly lost the sight of my adversary, making me wonder what had just happened. I didn't feel as though I could call it hindsight, because it had all happened so fast. I got up and looked around again. I heard the sizzling sound begin again. Suddenly, at the top of the mountain, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. My head whipped, tilting up to look at the thing I saw. **It** was there.

The creature's red, glowing eyes stared down at me, with eyes devoid of emotion. I felt the emotionless gaze of the creature, as it's eyes were unblinking, unmoving. I had never noticed this in such a light before, but when you look at it, it's eyes didn't even look like eyes, merely red orbs, but you could TELL they were eyes. It stood on a mountain, high up, looking directly at me. I snarled, not knowing what to do at all in this situation. Despite the fact that I knew it was pointless to run, I began to back away, looking behind me every so often so that I didn't trip, before simply turning my back to the creature. As I looked back at it, I noticed it had moved. It was perched lower, closer to me, much closer than before. A chill shot through me as I snarled in fear. It kept staring me down, unblinkingly, like a statue. I turned again, trying to gain greater distance, increasing my strides, I looked back, and it was even closer. I ceased my attempt at an escape, and I leaned back, preparing to unleash a devastating roar, before I caught myself. I heard the sizzling sound again, as I noticed a matter dripping down from somewhere on the creature's body. I watched the substance reach the ground, where it began to burn the ground, melting the green, lush plants.

I simply stayed silent and tried to stay firm and unmoving in my stance, hoping it'd leave if I was intimidating enough, to it. If I looked like a large threat, it shouldn't bother... Right?

The creature stared at me for a moment longer, before it's eyes started to glow noticeably brighter, more concentrated. I heard a snarl come from within the creature, as it breathed loudly. It glared at me with eyes that now showed one emotion - anger, as it's mouth gaped open. A black substance poured from it's cavernous mouth, rolling out and pouring down to the ground. The sizzling sound I had heard before began to start up again, but much louder this time, as I heard the creature growling as it emitted the matter. I saw the creature breathe another seemingly annoyed huff of air. It seemed to look bulkier with each breath, making me cautious. It was sizing me up, and trying to scare me off, a tactic I used repeatedly, with my own prey. Then, the sudden thought struck me... This creature thought of me, as its prey...

It let out another breath and snarl, having come from deep within it's throat. It growled angrily at me as it's eyes glowed with an eerie hostility. My head suddenly hurt, as my claws found my skull and I snarled in pain. I shut my eyes, as if the brightness from the glowing eyes of the creature that was before me, were blinding me. I could feel a mental stab in my head, and it made me snarl loudly, it was unbearable. My head pounded, and my mind throbbed, as my thoughts were repeatedly stabbed by the sensation. I tried to resist the pain as I opened my eyes again. I was staring straight at the Shadow Creature, at point blank range. It's eyes bore into me. We were face to face. Close enough to where I could move on step forward, and bump into it. However, I took a step back instead, terrified.

It snarled again, much louder and more vicious-sounding this time, as it's eyes burned like a bright, luminous fire. I saw the destruction, the conviction upon an eerie cause in it's eyes. I felt as though I was staring through the windows of Hell at something more than the devil. The creature snarled again viciously, as it firmly slammed its own claws into the ground, as if preparing for something. I saw what looked like it's torso and stomach glow brightly with an orange color, as it's eyes burned brighter than before, showing absolute anger at this point, I felt like I was staring at a living furnace.

The creature swiftly, and suddenly flared it's body up, garnering an immensely intimidating appearance with itself. The being before me snarled loudly as it stood back on what appeared to be it's hind legs. It wrapped itself in it's own massive wings, and it's eyes glowed brighter as it glared at me. The creature puffed it's chest out one final time, before suddenly spreading its wings widely, and letting free a burning roar that shook the earth and the ground beneath me. I felt hot wind pound my body all over with a ferociously burning feel to it, and also felt the vibrating around me in the air as the roar shook everything like an earthquake of burning thunder that rolled like a boulder. The sheer force of the roar sent me to my back, and I tumbled over once, ending up on my stomach, uprooting trees and rocks in the ground. I pushed myself up as quickly as I could, struggling to keep myself stable. I looked up at where the creature was. It turned it's body, heading the other direction. It looked back at me one more time, before it dissipated into millions of black shadows, moving to materialize somewhere else.

I snarled exhaustedly, before simply giving up, and collapsing to lay flat on my stomach. I needed to recharge.


	24. The Tongue of Poison

**-The Tongue of Poison- PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I was lying down, and that was all that I knew, as my eyes opened slowly. I rolled onto my back, and sighed deeply through my nose, letting the warm nerves and feeling spread at my arms, as well as the rest of my body. I sighed deeply again, with my head feeling crusty and dull, along with my hands, arms, and legs. I let out another sigh, with a deeper groan to it. I sat my body up slowly, propping my arms behind me, before standing up slowly, letting my body recalibrate it's sense and nerves. I began to shake my leg roughly, sighing again, as I looked around. I let out a soft yawn, observing my surroundings. Feeling a tad more comfortable, I began to make my way towards a path through the trees, looking for a way to exit the forest.

I ceased my walking, which had seemed endless. I was searching for Deus, not knowing WHY exactly I wanted to find him. I was too far into the forest to want to turn back. It seemed as though my surroundings had closed in with a more front-and-center sense of...Darkness. I was still a bit shell-shocked at the ambiance of my previous encounter with the strange creature, that seemed to have an eerie feeling to it that made me ponder the meaning of "darker than night". The creature had been massive, though, I had been too terrified to try and imagine how big it was compared to the Statera. I stopped thinking to myself internally, and took in my surroundings.

The sound of crickets chirping had been the only thing keeping the night silence from being too silent. I took a deep breath, knowing I could breathe easy at this time. My thoughts were interrupted by a whistle through the air. It felt...Out of place...And with it's presence came a feeling of caution. I suddenly felt the desire to keep moving, when I heard something else. But I didn't hear it. Well, I didn't feel like I heard it with my ears, because...It felt like the feeling came from somewhere in my mind...I suddenly felt it. I felt the words and the concept of what it was. Suddenly, the feeling started reaching to where I COULD hear it, but very vaguely. Despite the brief feeling, I had felt overwhelmed. Inundated and confused, even though I had felt at peace just a second ago. A horribly stiff chill shot through my body, spanning every inch of my skin as I began to shiver and shudder in fear of uncertainty. I suddenly heard it, but, for some reason, it felt INSIDE of me, yet right behind me. I heard the whisper. The muffled, deep whisper. It was one word...

_"Blake."_

I froze completely at the sound, because it did not feel like something calling my name...It didn't FEEL like my name. It felt like the simply muttering what SOUNDED like my name, but it felt like a mix between the two concepts. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head as my hands found my skull. It was a horrible feeling. As if something...Was trying to "swallow" my mind. I groaned and grunted in pain, before it broke out into a scream of agony and suffering. I fell to my knees, feeling nothing but cold pain throughout my body. As I tried to take control over my mind, I gasped and panted in pain, as if it felt like a struggle to end the pain. After a few moments, the pain lessened. My head and mind tensed up quickly one more time, only for the tensity to subside, my both of the former loosening up and feeling relief.

I sighed, feeling nothing but happiness about the experience being over. Though, I felt a feeling of want. Of belonging. All I wanted to do was to run home as fast as I could, and dip myself into bed, covering myself in my warm blanket, feeling at peace. Suddenly, as if the silence was alive, the presence of the quietness broke my thoughts. In a fit of paranoia, my mind raced as I literally HEARD the chirping of the crickets subside in volume. Another strong, but steady chill shot through me, as the urge to turn around dominated the forefront of my thinking. I noticed I was still on my knees, as I rose slowly. As another feeling of cautiousness arose in me, my jaw began to quiver in anticipation, as if something of enormous magnitude was about to happen.

I let out a soft whimper, and my eyes began to feel soft, and even a little wet, as I turned around. I saw a shadowy, but eerily visible silhouette of a beak-like face in the darkness made by the trees. I saw two small orbs of eerie, peace-shattering red light. They began to shake and and seemingly pulse for a moment, having a red afterglow to them. The brightness of the two orbs began to subside, and my eyes began to water as I realized what they were. They were eyes. The same eyes of the creature of darkness I had seen before. My jaw dropped, and my eyes began to water even more, as I saw the silhouette fade back into the darkness of the trees, becoming one with the darkness. Vanishing. I wanted to lie down, curling up on the grass, and simply close my eyes, hoping that the darkness I saw would simply save myself from even seeing the abomination. I did not want to, however. I wanted to leave the forest, forgetting about the Statera. I could look for him another day, maybe at daytime rather than nighttime, because, at that moment, I wanted the daylight to crash in and purify, enlighten the unknown feel to the darkness. I simply stared, speechless.

Absolute silence did not help the fact that I had realized that something was out there.

I sighed, still feeling my heart rapidly pound against the inside of my chest, my entire body shaking unstably with fear. An anxiety rose in my chest as the beating of my heart grew to a higher magnitude which shook my whole body. I could not stably stand. Suddenly, in a fit of fear and confusion, I bolted. I was panting heavily, rapidly, and my legs ached, felt like they were torn at the bone and muscle, but I kept running. I eventually reached the edge of the forest. I could have sworn that my heart was beating at an inhuman pace. I fell to my knees, my mouth and throat drier than bone as my lungs and chest heaved rapidly, deeply. My insides tensed and knotted, as I coughed roughly, spitting up blood. I swallowed, trying to get a hold of myself. My chest continued to heave. I realized I had been on my knees for about a minute. I stood up slowly, cradling my stomach carefully as I trudged forward. I took a deep breath, and continued to move on.

I was ready to throw up as soon as I approached the massive wall of the dorm building of Beacon, where one of the open windows on the massive structure was a window to my sanctuary. My dorm. That's all I could label it as, given my horrendously poor condition. I coughed again, before taking a deep breath. I felt my pockets and sides for Gambol, wrapping my fingers slowly around the handle, as I yanked it out. I cocked back the gun, lazily aiming it upwards and shooting it to latch onto the wall. Taking a few steps back, I leaped towards the wall, yanking the chain to hoist myself upwards along the wall. I was surprised how far I had pushed myself tonight, shocked at my own determination and endurance. I did a quick look-down at the ground to make sure no one was watching me. I continued to scale the wall, knowing that if I walked straight through the front door, I would most likely be caught, either on the spot or in the hallways.

I grabbed at the bottom rail of the window, pulling Gambol back and hoisting myself over it. I might as well have just dropped onto the floor and laid there the entire night, but something had just made me keep going despite my physical aching. I immediately looked to my left and plopped onto my bed, scrambling to pull the covers up and smothering myself in them, not giving a damn about my physical positioning. I willed my eyes to stay shut, and I didn't care what time it was. I had had a long night already.


	25. Brief Time in Sanctuary

**-Brief Time in Sanctuary-PoV: Blake Belladonna**

Heat. Warmth. Immoderate warmth. Too much warmth. These were the thoughts drifting through my head as I woke up to see all white, with blotches of an extremely light orange. I knew I was tired, as my body and head felt crusty, and if my mind was a sword, it would be extremely dull. There was a strange sensation in my head that I could absolutely not describe without calling it a headache, which it really didn't feel like. I reached my hands forward from where I was positioned, pushing up the blanket, as I knew what it was now. I pushed the blanket away, sunlight collapsing into my eyes and onto the rest of my now blanket-less body.

I sighed deeply, as a feeling poured into my stomach. Not knowing what I was doing, I rolled on my side, only to suddenly fall off of the bed with a high-pitched yelping sound. I cringed my eyes, irritated by the light. I groaned, the gears of my body now grinding smoothly, as I pushed myself off of the ground. I stood, slightly hunched over myself. I stood up straight, taking a deep breath, only for a hand to brush my head. I looked up, noticing it was Yang, who was snoring loudly with her hanging over the bed. I was surprised I didn't hear it before, given the volume. My Faunus ears twitched, as I heard the sound of shuffling bed sheets.

Weiss pushed herself up from the bed, yawning. She was facing the wall by the time she got up, so I thought she must have been laying on her stomach. I giggled at the image of the sophisticated, prim Schnee Company Heiress sleeping with her head submerged in her pillow, face first, which made her look at me.

_"Blake..." _

She adopted a stern look with her eyes. I smirked, actually sort of happy to see her, despite how many times she's been suspicious of me for multiple things.

_"Hey."_

There was a soft, hesitant tone in my voice, which I only noticed in hindsight, noticing the white-haired girl smirking. She groaned, apparently stretching as she let out a sigh.

"Well, you've gone and woken me up now, no sense in going back to sleep when I can already see the light clearly."

I, myself, looked to my right, into the golden daylight as it poured through the square window. My hand found the meeting between my forehead and my eyes. I looked at Weiss, who had somewhat of a questioning look on her face. I gave up. There was no sense in trying to conceal secrets from my own team.

_"Alright, what is it that you want to ask me?" _

Weiss sighed. My eyebrows adopted a sincere look, as she looked at me.

_"I don't want to ask you anything."_

She faced her entirely, observing her.

_"I'm not going to question what you've been doing all these nights, Blake..." _

She got down to her level, off of the bunkbed.

_"Just promise me...That you won't be so reckless."_

She put a hand on my shoulder, which only made me blush. I was quite flattered that I was cared about, even from someone such as Weiss. I couldn't help but chuckle and smile, knowing I had been missed.

_"I promise."_

**PoV: Ruby Rose**

The first thing I did as soon as feeling came back to me was groan into my pillow. I had found it hard to sleep, given the kind of fascination that was established in my thoughts considering the topic that Blake and I talked about. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard laughter from beside me as I laid with my head plunged into the pillow. I heaved my head out of the pillow, looking to my right, seeing two long ribbons of white and black. As my vision fizzed into a clearer view, I nearly squeaked with happiness, as I scrambled out of bed, eager to see the individual who was before me.

_"Blake!" _

I hugged her tightly, holding the embrace.

_"Glad to see you're out of the hospital!"_

I could feel the bright smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around me in a friendly embrace.

_"It's been too long." _

I saw Weiss smirk out of the corner of my eye.

_"Well, we haven't spent a day in Beacon together for a while...Should we get to class early?"_

I turned to Weiss, and nodded. It was nice to have the team back to full individual attendance.

In class, Yang hobbled groggily across the row of seats in a tired and lazy hunchback, her hair being an absolute mess as she plopped onto the chair with her eyes barely open. I giggled, noticing the cowlick at the top of her hair was still there. She turned to me, and I didn't think she knew who she was facing until she spoke.

_"Hiya, Ruby..."_

Her further indolence only made me giggle more.

_"Morning, Yang." _

"It's morning? What time is it?"

I looked at the clock above the large blackboard at the front of the class.

_"It's...8:57."_

_ "Oh..."_

She turned to the blackboard, her eyes almost like black lines as her mouth hung open lazily. I couldn't help but giggle louder, as she simply stared into space. Her head then unexpectedly dropped forward on the desk in front of her as I felt the vibrations. She looked up immediately, her eyes wide open, and I swore that her hair was suddenly neat and organized when it was completely disheveled just a second ago. She turned to me.

_"Oh, hey there, Ruby, Weiss, Bla-...Hi Blake!"_

She tilted forward to look at her, smiling softly and waving. Professor Port cleared his throat.

_"Now, then...Yesterday, we were on the topic of Grimm weak points..."_

**PoV: Blake Belladonna**

In the Beacon cafeteria, I was surprised that I didn't plow through my food. Well, at least I had taken food in the first place. Sleep wasn't going to solve all my concerns. Actually, my greatest concern at that time wasn't even about the Statera. I was just wondering what I wanted to do next. It felt wrong to go out to find the Statera alone again, and frankly, not while that...Thing was there. I didn't want to feel alone again. The idea of bringing my team along with me to help find the Statera crossed my mind. But how would I introduce them to the Statera? How would I even ask them? I began to anxiously shuffle through the possible responses I could use for any of their questions. Then it came back to me that I had informed Ruby about the condition of the Statera when I was in the hospital. That hadn't crossed my mind just a second ago. This was going to be a difficult afternoon for me, socially as well as mentally. I twitched, startled as Yang put a hand on my shoulder from behind.

She asked her question with enthusiastic, but jolly curiosity.

_"You finished?"_

I nodded matter-of-factly.

_"Yes, I'm finished." _

The blonde-haired girl smiled jovially.

_"Alrighty then! Weiss and I are headed back to the room, come back when you're ready." _

She walked away, as I turned to Ruby, who was unexpectedly sitting right next to me. She turned to me.

_"Sooo..."_

I could tell she wanted to keep her following words a secret.

_"How has the Statera been?"_

I looked her sternly in the eyes, and sighed.

_"You really want to know? You want to know more about this?" _

_"Yes! I want to see how he acts! What he looks like! What kinds of stuff does he do?"_

I thought about the question for a moment, and realized that I hadn't actually seen or interacted with him very much since he had dropped me off on the edge of Vale. I opened my mouth, only for Ruby to wave a hand for her to speak.

_"Are you only going to let me in on this?" _

I pondered the question for a moment.

_"Well, Ruby, you're the only one I feel comfortable telling this to...I figure Weiss would try to shred it to pieces the moment she sees it-much less hears about a connection to it, and Yang...Well, I don't know what Yang would think." _

Ruby sighed.

_"Me neither...About Yang, I mean." _

I smirked inwardly.

_"I'm mostly worried about Weiss..."_

Ruby hummed for a moment and sighed. "I'm sure she won't go ballistic." "She'd be seriously skeptical. She might not even believe me." I said, speaking out loud the possible outcomes.

_"There would be no point in revealing it if the latter came as a result..." _

I blinked.

_"Good point..."_

Ruby shifted her attention to somewhere else for a moment. I knew she was thinking. She tapped on my shoulder, as I turned to her.

_"We should tell them today. Despite having an idea for the possible outcomes, I'm sure you'd be more comfortable with having this be a group thing rather than something you keep to yourself. It would hoist plenty of weight off of your shoulders...I know it." _

I smiled.

_"Thanks, Ruby. Just...thanks."_

She smiled.

_"Any time." _

_"I might tell them today..." _

_"Oh, really?" _

_"I might as well, honestly..." "Alright then...I'm heading back to the room now..." _

My ears gripped on to the sound of her footsteps as they faded out.

I had to come clean. My mind shifted back to the thing I had seen last night...I couldn't let that get to me. I had to do...Something about it...I didn't know what I'd do, but I'd...I'd be willing to ask for help. Report it. I just...Needed someone else to know. I would have to see in the future.

I headed back to my room, allowing myself to turn off my mind and just relax as I automatically strolled through the halls of Beacon. Looking around at all the smiling faces and bouncing lips, I wondered something. What is going on in the minds of these people? My mind shifted back to my worries. I tried to shove off the thought of the black abomination I had witnessed before, and I tried to focus on how I would present it to my team as I entered the dorm halls. I turned the corner, where the door was right there. I stopped, letting myself lean on the wall to relax. I sighed. Maybe everything would work out right. Though, I was absolutely clueless as to what to say when trying to inform them of the...Dark thing I had seen.

**PoV: Weiss Schnee**

I agreed entirely with Ruby's idea. Blake had been way too distant lately. Too distant, this time. As Ruby presented the idea of us questioning her, it finally came to me that I hadn't even talked to her in a long time since this morning. The rest of my team hadn't spoken with her either.

_"We should approach her politely, show that we're truly worried about her..."_

I opened my mouth to say something, but Blake opened the door before anything could come out. We were all silent for a moment. Yang was the first to speak.

_"Hi Blake!" _

She had a soft voice.

_ "Hi."_

I readied my own words.

_ "How are you feeling today?" _

_"Good."_

I could tell she was holding back a deep breath. After a moment of silence, Ruby spoke up.

**PoV: Ruby Rose**

I knew I had to make it seem like I didn't already know her secret.

_"Blake...Can we talk with you?"_

She sighed.

_"Ruby, can we just cut to the chase?"_

I almost winced at her words.

_"What chase?"_

Weiss stood up.

_"Blake, I'd like to ask you something...Out of pure concern." _

Blake sighed, as she sat back in a chair.

_"Shoot." _

Weiss stepped forward.

_ "Where have you been?"_

**PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I was actually a bit thrown off at the simplicity at the question.

_"What do you mean by that?"_

The white-haired heiress straightened her posture.

_"You've been very distant from the team lately...Literally. It seems like you've been out doing your own things recently. But what are those things?" _

I took a moment to gather my thoughts and memories, making sure to have all I needed to cover what I was going to speak of.

_"Well...You sure you guys won't be surprised when I tell you?" _

Yang nodded, followed by Weiss.

_"We promise."_

I sighed.

_"I've been going into the forest..." _

I ceased my words for a moment to look up to them.

_"And...You know that giant Grimm monster everyone has been talking about?" _

I saw Weiss's eyes dilate in attention and shock.

_"What? This is relevant to that?" _

I nodded, my heart thumping in my chest.

_"Yes, because...I've been visiting it."_

Weiss's eyes widened.

_"Oh my...Wait, but...You've been going to see it?"_

I sighed again, knowing that, no matter how much they tried to comfort me with the safety of telling them the truth, it would still be a long explanation.

_"Yes, I have been going to see it. Look, I stumbled upon it in the forest when it was just a small creature. It didn't harm me at all. It didn't bite me, didn't claw at me, nothing. Since then, I've been visiting it privately." _

Weiss took a deep breath.

_"Well...This isn't really what I expected when you wanted to say something." _

_"Weiss, the Statera is not a wretched, genocidal Grimm like you think it is." _

_"Statera?"_

_"It's name is 'Deus Statera'. I looked it up in one of Oobleck's books_."

Weiss chuckled softly.

_ "So you know more about this than anyone in the academy?" _

I shrugged.

_ "Pretty much, as far as I know. It's not something I'd expect someone to be interested in... Much less even believe it's existence." _

Weiss's fingers had found her chin.

_"And you've been taking care of it?"_

I smirked a bit, and nodded. It was nice to know that she was taking it easy with this.

_"I have. I've fed it before. With meat. But, Weiss? It's grown. It's grown to a massive size. It's bigger than me, and it reached that standpoint within only a few days."_

_"I see...What does it do?" _

I chuckled softly.

_"Well, it's kind of a regulator..." _

Weiss furrowed her brow.

_"A regulator? What do you mean by that?" "I mean that it exterminates other Grimm. It is born into the world when Grimm population skyrockets to unnecessary levels. It moderates the population, establishing balance in the population. It's not harmful to humanity." _

Weiss smiled, as if she was relieved by the knowledge that she was taking in at the moment.

_"Interesting... It has more of a purpose that I thought it did."_

I smirked.

_"It got into a fight with another rather large Grimm at one point..."_

I sighed.

_"The results of the scuffle knocked me unconscious. After the Statera finished off the Grimm, it took me home. It picked me up in it's arms and carried me to the edge of the forest." _

Weiss smiled brightly, giggling softly to herself.

_"Have you bonded with it?" _

_"I have. I think it sees me as it's mother..." _

Weiss made an aw sound.

_"It sounds sweet..."_

I giggled. Thinking about it now, I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for the massive creature.

_"I haven't seen it since it dropped me off on the edge of the city." _

_"Oh..."_

Weiss turned, looking out the window of our room. I started shaking where I sat, nervous about the thing I was going to explain in just a moment.

_"There's a problem though..." _

Weiss whipped back to me.

_"A problem?" _

_"There's another thing... That I saw last night. It wasn't the Statera... It was something else. Something scary, and...Just...It had a sense of automatic hostility to it. It was a massive creature that...Had to be ten times the size of the Deus, and it tried to attack me, before the roar of the Statera distracted it...Then it ran off."_

Weiss had a stern expression on her face, she was obviously listening intently.

_"...Later, when I was sure I had ran far enough, I felt a pain...In my mind...Like something was trying to invade my thoughts. And...I think it said my name..." _

I could see Weiss shudder.

_"It's a nightmare...I was so scared. I had looked behind myself, and I saw the silhouette of it's face...I ran." _

I let a silence hang in the air for a moment.

_"I ran back here. I went to bed. The current day as we know it now then ensued the next morning, and...Here we are know."_

A thick silence hanged in the air. Ruby let out a small giggle.

_"Did you come up with the part about the other Grimm off the top of your head?" _

I tossed a brief, disappointed glare at Ruby, as I looked up to Weiss.

_"It's not a joke. I swear. I saw the...Thing with my own eyes. I'm scared of it..." _

Weiss furrowed her brow at Ruby, much like I did.

_"Blake."_

She placed a hand on my shoulder.

_"Let's go see the Statera together. As a team. There's no reason to hide this from us. We'll work it all out, and maybe even look into that thing you said."_

I looked straight into Weiss's eyes, and saw nothing but honesty.

_"Thank you."_

A wordless silence drifted about the room for a moment. Yang stood up.

_"So...We're gonna go see the thing?_"

Weiss turned to her.

_"Why not?"_

Ruby stood up, and stretched.

_"Alright, Team RWBY! Let's go on an expedition!"_

The infinite sound of crunching leaves flooded my ears, as we all strolled through the forest. It was quite peaceful, and even silent, compared to last night I shoved the thought of last night aside, not wanting to stoke the fires of great fear inside of me. I heard the sound of rushing water.

_"Nature, nurture, heaven and home..._  
_Sum of all and by them driven..."_

I tilted my view to Yang, followed by Weiss, and Ruby.

_"To conquer every mountain shown..._  
_But have never crossed the river..."_

The blonde flinched as Ruby spoke up.

_"Where did you get that from?"_

Yang smirked.

_"It's a song." _

_"Oh. Nice." _

Yang swung her arms behind her, shooting her Ember Celicas, using the recoil to cross, Ruby doing the same with Crescent Rose, as Weiss utilized her glyphs. I used my Shadow Semblance to leap across with ease.

**PoV: Deus Statera**

I snarled. I was laying on my stomach again. I took a deep breath, shoving air from my lungs with a huffing snarl. I pushed myself from the ground, growling as my back arched from standing up. Instinctively, I roared as soon as my body clicked into rimrod straightness. It was an entirely instinctive motion. It was daytime, the fresh air combining with the blue sky to make a beautiful light that spread across everything. I stretched my limbs in all directions, groaning deeply. I was able to remember last night...The horrible thing I had again encountered...What was it, anyway? I didn't want to stay in this area all day. I trudged at a steady pace, as I took a look around. I snarled again, except for when I managed to yawn with my mouth gaping open. I grunted and continued my march.

I wondered where my mother was. What had happened to her? Where was she? I found an anxiety materializing in my chest as I worried and worried. Where would I go? I suddenly realized how dry my throat was. I also realized how my stomach ached with hunger. I growled, taking a few steps, before I noticed a creature before me. It was quite large, being bulky in appearance as well as size, It was actually around my size, going up to my stomach in height. I didn't hesitate, immediately turning and slamming my tail into it's body, sending it toppling through a couple of trees. I snarled, eager to feast on fresh meat. In a fit of instinctive behavior, I directly impaled the bulky adversary with the spikes on my tail, dragging it across it's body, which tore him in two. I snarled, impressed at my own creativity in subduing my prey.

I leaned forward, tearing in through the skin and flesh of the creature, snarling with satisfaction as I tasted the richness of it. I devoured the remains, almost belching as I gulped it down. I stood up straight, as I noticed more of that blue, clear-ish stuff...I hadn't seen it in so long. I felt drawn toward it, as I crouched, dipping my snout into the shiny liquid, lapping it up with my tongue. It quenched my apparent thirst, I felt that it "washed down" the delicious carcass of my now deceased opponent. After I felt satisfied, I pushed myself up, only to look up and see my mother standing there at the cliff before me.

_"If the stars all fall..._  
_When there's no more light..."_

My head, my body, everything inside of me suddenly jerked to awareness and clarity as I heard the melodic words.

_"And the moon should crumble,_  
_It will be alright."_

I trudged forward, feeling my mind being soothed by her voice.

_"Don't you worry about the dark,_  
_I will light up the night with the love in my heart."_

It was a slow melody, gentle to my ears, as I felt my mind being purged and cleansed of any anxiety or worry.

_"I will burn like the sun,_  
_I will keep you safe and warm."_

I was standing just at the cliff, as three other individuals who looked like my mother approached.

**PoV: Blake Belladonna**

I looked back to my team, seeing Ruby shaking, Weiss clenching her fists, and Yang simply folding her arms across her chest. I sighed.

_"This is the Statera, guys." _

Ruby glanced at me, then back to the creature, before marching over to me.

_"And...He's not like the other Grimm? He's sentient?" _

I smirked.

_"He is."_

_ "Blake, uh..."_

I glanced over to Weiss, who was shuffling and shifting nervously.

_ "He looks scary..."_

I tsked.

_"Weiss, he might look scary, but he's gentle."_

Yang shrugged.

_"He's a big fella, that's for sure." _

I nodded to Yang, before looking at the heiress again.

_"Watch this, Weiss." _

I gestured for the God of Balance to come closer.

**PoV: Deus Statera**

I leaned forward, responding to the way my mother apparently requested me forth, as she gently patted and rubbed my snout with her hand, the feeling, despite our difference in size, making me feel warm and safe inside. She spoke something to the individual next to her, who shook their head at first, my mother chuckling as she did so. Who were these people? She whipped her head to another person much like her, with a long ribbon-like thing behind her head, stretching downward. She shook her head as well.

The last person, who was taller than my mother, and had a long cloud-like thing behind her head, as well as a crescent-like figure on the top of her head, opened her mouth to yawn, as she patted my snout gently, having the most action out of all the three. My mother, by herself, came over to me. I noticed that she said something. But, I blinked. Something surprised me. I had understood exactly the words she had said. I suddenly knew what she meant when her mouth formed sounds and phrases and words. My eyes widened as I realized this. The words drifted to my ears softly, with gentle understanding.

_"These are my friends."_


	26. Phantom Whispers of the Unknown

**-PoV-: ?**

_"Day. Night. Light. Dark. Repeating. Eternally?_

_Not anymore._

_More time. More allies. Family._

_Renegador. Defector. __Heretic._

_Rebirth._

_Rise up, brothers."_


End file.
